ARVO SIG session on IRDs and Advanced Imaging Biomarkers
Sign up for ARVO 2026 Special Interest Group (SIG) sessions, online in June, for engaging discussions on impactful topics. In particular, highly sensitive imaging biomarkers for IRDs will be featured in the following ARVO SIG session:
Inherited Retinal Diseases: Adaptive Optics Imaging for Natural History Studies and Clinical Trials
June 23, 2026, at 8:00-9:30 am ET/ 2:00-3:30 pm CEST, online
Organized by Danilo Andrade de Jesus, Erasmus MC and Rotterdam Eye Hospital, and Panagiotis I. Sergouniotis, University of Manchester, this SIG features a panel of international experts in ophthalmology, inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), advanced retinal imaging (adaptive optics, AO), and AI-driven retinal image analysis.
They will discuss how cellular-level retinal imaging already opens new avenues for natural history studies and clinical trials in IRDs, and address the unmet needs for translating of AO imaging into validated structural biomarkers for therapy development.
Panelists
- Bart Leroy, Department of Ophthalmology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
- Danuta M. Sampson, Centre of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
- Ethan Rossi, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, USA
- Jacque Duncan, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, USA
- Kiyoko Gocho, Department of Ophthalmology, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
SIG description
Adaptive optics (AO) retinal imaging is increasingly used to characterize photoreceptor distribution in inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) and is emerging as a potential outcome measure for natural history studies and interventional trials. However, variability in acquisition, analysis, and interpretation across centers continues to limit its broader adoption and regulatory relevance. This Special Interest Group is organized as a round-table discussion with five international experts in AO imaging and IRDs. Panelists will offer concise perspectives on AO and multimodal imaging strategies, longitudinal assessment of disease progression (including retinitis pigmentosa), detection of genotype- and stage- specific phenotypes, AI developments that accelerate AO image analysis, and the integration of AO metrics with functional endpoints and multicenter clinical research infrastructures. The interactive discussion will address unmet needs for translating AO imaging into validated structural biomarkers for multicenter natural history studies and clinical trials. We encourage participation from clinical researchers designing IRD studies, imaging specialists seeking standardization guidance, and researchers exploring novel biomarkers. Key goals are to identify priorities for standardization and validation, highlight areas requiring coordinated collaboration, and define realistic pathways for incorporating AO imaging into IRD clinical research and therapeutic development.
Free for ARVO members and members-in-training. ARVO will charge $25 for non-members. Registration gives access to all the 2026 live SIG sessions and on-demand videos afterwards.
