Assessment of Retinal Arteriolar Morphology by Adaptive Optics Ophthalmoscopy

The advent of adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy (AOO) represents a revolution in digital retinal imaging. Adaptive optics allows retinal microcirculation exploration at a near-histological scale. The best advantage of this technique is represented by the correction of the wave front aberrations observed in all imperfect optical systems, like the eye. The high magnification achieved by AOO allows a differentiation of the arteriolar wall from other perivascular structures, providing more information about the vessel diameter than just the transition in contrast at the border of the blood column of retinal microvessels.