I-Corps Teams: Visiglow: A High-throughput Vision Assessment Tool

Oregon State University, Corvallis OR

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to completely transform vision screening. With this technology pharmaceutical companies can automatically and rapidly screen thousands of compounds with non-technically trained staff in multiple animal models. The long-term beneficial consequences of the proposed work will include: 1) expanding the breath of translational research because the technology can be used in all seeing verbal and nonverbal animals (i.e., drosophila, zebrafish, mice, rabbits, human adults and infants); 2) accelerate compound screening, and 3) ultimately, reduce the cost and time from drug discovery to market. This I-Corps project advances vision screening. The technology is analogous to a customizable disco ball, that can automatically alter light displays to non-invasively assess multiple aspects of vision in seeing verbal and nonverbal animals. Our past research has proven the technology is well-matched to screen multiple aspects of vision within 20s in zebrafish, an important biomedical model. It is a platform technology, therefore the invention will be important for high throughput screening of pharmaceutical compounds, biological mutants, and toxicological agents in diverse biomedical models, thereby advancing drug discovery, gene therapies, and quality control and assurance. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.