Evaluation of corneal nerves morphology for diabetic peripheral neuropathy assessment

The evaluation of corneal nerve morphology by optical methods may form the basis of a simple, non-invasive technique for early diagnosis and accurate assessment of peripheral diabetic neuropathy. Currently, corneal nerves can be imaged in vivo using corneal confocal microscopy, an expensive technique that is only available at large medical units. Our goal is to develop an optical technique for peripheral neuropathy assessment, through corneal nerves imaging, based on simple, easy to operate and widespread instrumentation. This technique will be built upon automatic algorithms for corneal nerves segmentation and morphometric analysis and an optical confocal module for recording corneal nerves images using a standard slit-lamp, the most commonly used instrument in ophthalmic practice to observe the anterior eye. Here we present the current status and results of this ongoing project.