Abstract

Management of diabetic retinopathy (DR), third most common reason for avoidable
blindness (WHO ), is plagued with higher rural burden and loss to follow-ups , costly
&; situated in urban centres . DR biomarker assay, if portable can screen DR in rural
areas and reduce the need for follow-ups and resultant vision loss.
Detection of DR biomarker protein (e.g. VEGF) in samples (serum) on detection test
on the glass slide is difficult because of its very low concentration (70-200 pg/mL in
serum 10 ), Different
samples (NPDR, PDR, Healthy control) were used after proper IEC and consent. A
confocal microscope and software were used to capture &
analyze the images on biomarker level.
A statistically significant difference (Mann-Whitney test) was found between samples,
correlating with their clinical disease status.
Immunoassay seems promising proof of concept that could supplement
conventional gold standard OCT, and DFA for DR assessment, especially in low-cost,
settings.