Macular Pigment is a yellow pigment in the Retina of the eye, that is important to keeping the eye healthy. There is a strong possibility that higher levels of this pigment in the eye protect against the possibility of developing Age Related Maculopathy, the most common cause of blindness in the elderly. The components of the pigment are derived from eating certain foods.

Because the pigment is concentrated in one area of the retina and is yellow, it is possible to measure it indirectly by measuring the relative sensitivity to blue and red light across the retina. A number of different methods exist to do this; however they are all complex and expensive. There is a need for a low cost instrument to make these measurements.

This project involves the novel use of a combination of light emitting diodes and LCD displays to develop a simple low-cost instrument. The prototype should be a USB controlled electro-optical assembly for use with a laptop computer implemented using a USB enabled controller chip. Software to make the measurements and graphically display the results will be developed in Matlab.

In my time here so far I have been working on a project which has involved the design and implementation of microcontroller firmware. This is something that I haven't done before, but with help, it has been an intresting learning experience. One thing I particularly like is that I have been given the responsiblity of the project, meaning I can execute it in the way I feel best. I am now moving on to USB control of the microcontroller, again which is new to me, and something I am looking forward to learning about.

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