Indiana University professors Ann Elsner and Stephen Burns have developed an optic imaging method to detect the earliest stages of diabetic retinopathy.

The device uses small mirrors to reflect light into the eye to overcome optical imperfections. It detected damage spread widely across the retina in early disease states, including changes to blood vessels not thought to occur until the disease advances. Researchers were able to observe a magnified version of eye capillaries in in video format, enabling them to watch blood cells moving through blood vessels.