Imaging of macular pigment distributions

A method for measuring macular pigment, comprising:

• providing a light source that emits light at at least one wavelength that overlaps the absorption band of macular carotenoids and the absorption band of lipofuscin,
• directing light from the light source onto the macula and adjacent peripheral retinal area of a living eye for which macular pigment levels are to be measured for a period of less than about 500 milliseconds,
• collecting light emitted from the macula and adjacent peripheral retina, the collected light comprising lipofuscin emission at a wavelength range that:
• overlaps the emission wavelength range of lipofuscin;
• and
• is outside the emission range of interfering fluorophores,
• quantifying the collected light from each of a plurality of locations in the macular tissue and adjacent peripheral retinal tissue thereby quantifying the lipofuscin emission intensities from each of a plurality of locations, and
• determining the macular pigment levels in the macular tissue from the differing lipofuscin emission intensities in the macula and adjacent peripheral retina.

An apparatus for measuring macular pigment, comprising:

• a light source that generates light at a wavelength that is absorbed by macular pigment and lipofuscin and that produces lipofuscin emission;
• a shutter configured to receive light from the light source, substantially blocking most light from the light source when closed, and transmitting light from the light source for a period of less than about 500 milliseconds when open;
• at least one optical filter configured for receiving, directly or indirectly, light that is emitted from macular tissue of an eye that has been illuminated with light from the light source, the optical filter being selective for passing light at a selected wavelength range such that fluorescence contributions from the human lens are substantially blocked;
• an optical detector configured for receiving the passed light from the optical filter and generating a signal indicative of the fluorescence intensities of the lipofuscin emission at each of a plurality of points at the macula and adjacent peripheral retina of a subject's eye;
• and
• a computing device for determining macular pigment concentrations from the fluorescence intensities of the lipofuscin emission at the macula and adjacent peripheral retina.