To record the activity of retinal cells in live organisms, researchers use in vivo electroretinography (ERG) systems. Essentially, these consist of contact lenses with attached electrodes that are placed on the eyes and used to detect responses to different intensities and wavelengths of light. Such in vivo analysis has limited potential for experimentation, however, so some researchers choose to study dissected retinas in culture. Surprisingly, “there was no system on the market” for ex vivo ERG, says Vladimir Kefalov of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “You had to build a whole system from scratch,” which he estimates would cost between $60,000 and $100,000. Indeed, Kefalov himself had built such a system.
To trim the expenses and complications of a custom ex vivo system, Kefalov’s team built an ex vivo adapter, based on in vivo ERGs available in most ophthalmology departments. The adapter, which Kefalov has also made ...
