Boston Micromachines Corporation, a leading provider of MEMS-based deformable mirror (DM) products for adaptive optics systems, announced today that a collaboration with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the University of California, Davis, and the Indiana University School of Optometry has received a 2010 R&D 100 award for the development of a MEMS-based Adaptive Optics Optical Coherence Tomography (AO-OCT) instrument.  The AO-OCT permits ophthalmologists to see the eye’s retina at the individual cell level.

The awards, determined by an independent judging panel and the editors of R&D Magazine, recognize the 100 most technologically significant products introduced during the past year.  According to the magazine, the awards are widely regarded as the "Oscars of Innovation."

The Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)-based Adaptive Optics Optical Coherence Tomography instrument is a clinical apparatus that provides non-invasive, ultra-high resolution, three-dimensional volumetric retinal images for ophthalmologists and optometrists to view cellular- level structure in the human retina. The device represents a revolutionary advance over current commercial optical coherence tomography and retinal cameras.

With this capability, doctors will be able to obtain early diagnoses and follow the progression of retinal diseases, as well as track the progress of genetic therapies that reverse such diseases. The instrument uses the same adaptive optics principles that allow astronomers to see distant stars and galaxies with the ground-based Keck Telescope in Hawaii with a higher resolution than the Hubble Space Telescope.

“The R&D 100 Awards have always represented some of the most innovative concepts to reach the marketplace in the past year. 2010 is no exception, and we had a particularly strong field of entries for the judges to evaluate,” said Rita Peters, editorial director of R&D Magazine.

“We are pleased to be recognized along with our colleagues at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the University of California, Davis, and the Indiana University School of Optometry by R&D Magazine with this prestigious award,” said Paul Bierden.  “The AO-OCT represents a revolutionary breakthrough in the visualization of the retina.  It promises to enhance the quality of life for millions of people fighting vision loss and blindness caused by retinal diseases.”

R&D 100 award winners will be recognized at the annual banquet on November 11, 2010 in Orlando, Fla.