Fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) reveals the brain's best-kept secrets

News
Video

FLIO ushers clinicians from structural to functional imaging, said Robert Sergott, MD, in a presentation at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium

Robert C. Sergott, MD, of Wills Eye Hospital, presented during the New Technology session at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium (ISS), 13-14 June, in Heidelberg, Germany.

During his lecture, Dr Sergott discussed fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO), an emerging imaging modality for ophthalmic and neurologic pathologies. He highlighted the potential FLIO demonstrates in diagnostics and therapeutic monitoring for retinal disease and neurodegeneration.

According to Dr Sergott, FLIO's relationship to optical coherence tomography (OCT) mirrors that association between positron emission tomography (PET) was to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In other words, FLIO is ushering clinicians from structural imaging toward functional imaging. Dr Sergott is the Margaret and Richard Hayne Distinguished Director at the Annesley EyeBrain Center at Jefferson University, partnered with Wills Eye Hospital. There, he and his colleagues are focused on using FLIO to distinguish patterns of mitochondrial dysfunction and protein misfolding which can be biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer andParkinson disease.

Watch the full video to hear more about the promise of FLIO, including the possibility of personalised disease modeling, drug testing and more.

Newsletter

Join ophthalmologists across Europe—sign up for exclusive updates and innovations in surgical techniques and clinical care.

Recent Videos
Christine Curcio, PhD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine, shares histology update and revised nomenclature for OCT with Sheryl Stevenson of the Eye Care Network and Ophthalmology Times
SriniVas R. Sadda, MD, FARVO, shares key points from his retina presentation at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium
Rayaz Malik, MBChB, PhD, a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar, spoke with Ophthalmology Times Europe about his presentation. It's titled "An eye on neurodegenerative diseases: Challenging the dogma" at the International SPECTRALIS Sympsoium. In conversation with Hattie Hayes, Ophthalmology Times Europe
Anat Loewenstein, MD, describes her presentation on remote imaging for age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium, in conversation with Hattie Hayes of Ophthalmology Times Europe
Tyson Brunstetter, OD, PhD, a US Navy Aerospace Optometrist at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, shares key takeaways from his keynote at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium (ISS)
Rayaz Malik, MBChB, PhD, shares his presentation, titled An eye on neurodegenerative diseases: Challenging the dogma, at this year's International SPECTRALIS Symposium
At the Retina World Congress, Siegfried Priglinger, MD, speaks about ensuring the best outcomes for preschool-aged patients
At the 2025 ASCRS meeting, Robert Ang, MD said small aperture IOLs can benefit all patients, especially those with complex corneas or who have undergone previous corneal refractive surgery
Viha Vig, MBChB graduate student at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, discusses her poster presentation on the relationship between mitochondiral disease, Alzheimer disease, and other types of dementia.
Alfredo Sadun, MD, PhD, chief of Ophthalmology at the Doheny Eye Institute, University of California Los Angeles, shared exciting new research with the Eye Care Network during the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting on the subject of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON).
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.