Patent ID: 7706863

Claim:
A method for assessing a physiological state of a mammalian retina in vivo, the method comprising the steps of: (a) irradiating a portion of a mammalian retina, in vivo, with short-pulse light from a laser having a wavelength in the range of from 600 nm to 1000 nm at an intensity sufficient to stimulate two-photon-induced fluorescence in the retina; (b) detecting the two-photon-induced fluorescence from the retina using a photon detector to produce a pixel; and (c) repeating steps (a) and (b) to collect a plurality of pixels, (d) producing an image from the plurality of pixels, wherein the image visualizes at least one retinosome; and (e) assessing the physiological state of the retina based on the at least one retinosome.