Method and apparatus for diagnosing neovascularized tissues

A method for diagnosing an ocular disease involving neovascularization, comprising:

• (a) placing an ocular tissue in the path of a first light beam, wherein the ocular tissue comprises retina or RPE/choroidal tissue;
• (b) measuring the maximum intensity of a second light beam that is backscattered from the ocular tissue;
• and
• (c) diagnosing an ocular disease involving neovascularization if the measured maximum intensity corresponds to the intensity of a neovascularized tissue.

A method for diagnosing an ocular disease involving neovascularization, comprising:

• (a) placing an ocular tissue in the path of a first light beam, wherein the ocular tissue comprises retina or RPE/choroidal tissue;
• (b) aligning an analyzer with the direction of a second light beam that is the most intense light beam backscattered from the ocular tissue;
• (c) measuring a polarization shift of the second light beam;
• (d) measuring the maximum intensity of the second light beam;
• and
• (e) diagnosing an ocular disease involving neovascularization if the measured polarization shift and maximum intensity correspond to a polarization shift and intensity of a neovascularized tissue.

An apparatus for diagnosing an ocular disease, comprising:

• (a) a laser;
• a polarizer coupled to the laser;
• (b) a tissue sample holder coupled to the polarizer;
• (c) an analyzer coupled to the tissue sample holder, wherein the analyzer is configured to be aligned with the direction of the most intense beam backscattered from the tissue;
• (d) a detector coupled to the analyzer;
• and
• (e) a data acquisition system coupled to the detector, the data acquisition system configured to measure a polarization shift of a light beam backscattered off of a tissue sample in the holder and diagnose an ocular disease if the measured polarization shift corresponds to a polarization shift of a neovascularized tissue, wherein the data acquisition system includes a computer and the detector.

An apparatus for diagnosing an ocular disease, comprising:

• (a) a laser;
• (b) a polarizer coupled to the laser;
• (c) a tissue sample holder coupled to the polarizer, wherein the tissue sample holder is configured to be in the path of a first light beam emitted by the laser;
• (d) an analyzer coupled to the tissue sample holder;
• (e) a detector coupled to the analyzer, wherein the detector comprises a photodiode;
• and
• (f) a data acquisition system coupled to the detector, the data acquisition system configured to measure the maximum intensity of a second light beam backscattered from a tissue in the tissue sample holder and diagnose an ocular disease if the measured maximum intensity of the second light beam corresponds to an intensity of a neovascularized tissue, wherein the data acquisition system comprises a computer.

An apparatus for detecting neovascularized ocular tissue, comprising:

• (a) a laser;
• (b) a polarizer coupled to the laser;
• (c) a tissue sample holder coupled to the polarizer, wherein the tissue sample holder is configured to be in the path of a first light beam emitted by the laser;
• (d) an analyzer coupled to the tissue sample holder;
• (e) a detector coupled to the analyzer, wherein the detector comprises a photodiode;
• and
• (f) a data acquisition system coupled to the detector, the data acquisition system configured to measure a polarization shift of a second light beam backscattered from a tissue in the tissue sample holder and diagnose an ocular disease if the measured polarization shift of the second light beam corresponds to a polarization shift of a neovascularized ocular tissue.

An apparatus for detecting neovascularized ocular tissue, comprising:

• (a) a laser;
• (b) a polarizer coupled to the laser;
• (c) a tissue sample holder coupled to the polarizer, wherein the tissue sample holder is configured to be in the path of a first light beam emitted by the laser;
• (d) an analyzer coupled to the tissue sample holder;
• (e) a detector coupled to the analyzer, wherein the detector comprises a photodiode;
• and
• (f) a data acquisition system coupled to the detector, the data acquisition system configured to measure the maximum intensity of a second light beam backscattered from a tissue in the tissue sample holder and diagnose an ocular disease if the measured maximum intensity of the second light beam corresponds to an intensity of a neovascularized ocular tissue.