Week5

1.       Progress Made:

This week I mainly did two tasks. The first one is that I ordered a bench in the 4^th floor laboratory room. The number of bench is 11b. Then on Saturday, I searched some information about ERG test on the internet. ERG is an abbreviation of electroretinography. ERG is to measure the electrical responses of many retina cells. During the ERG test, patients are asked to be in a sitting or lying position. In order to avoid some discomfort, the doctors will place numbing drops in advance. Next, the eyes of patients are kept open by a device named tractor. Then, an electrical sensor or electrode is put near each eye. The electrode will measure the electrical activity of the retina responding to light. A light flashes, and the corresponding electrical response will be sent to a TV-like screen for instance CRT, LCD monitors where the response is able to be viewed and recorded from the electrode. The normal response pattern has waves a and b. Meanwhile, the resulting signal displays the function of time vs the signal’s amplitude which most reflects in voltage.  This kind of signals is quite tiny and recorded in microvolts or nanovolts. The doctor will take the readings in normal room light and in the dark respectively.

Furthermore, I also read some literatures about the historical view of ERG. It chiefly tells how the response of the eye to a light flash is discovered. At the meantime, it also refers to the detailed introduction to four kinds of waves of electrical response, like wave-a, wave-b, wave-c and wave-d. However, in my opinion, there is no need for me to do further reading about this knowledge. Hence, I attempted to search some articles about both ERG test and CRT or LCD. I wanted to know how to connect the electrodes to the CRT or LCD monitors. CRT or LCD monitors are commonly regarded as stimulus sources for ERG test. There are some screen properties which ought to be achieved for stimulus source CRT monitor, for instance, frame frequency, luminance and calibration. I haven’t finished reading the corresponding literatures about this knowledge. I will continue to read them next week.

2.       Problems and Challenges:

This week I spent less time on doing FYP. Therefore, by now I am unable to grasp a clear understanding of ERG test. I don’t know the significance of high quality image display of responding waveforms to ERG test. I also have no idea about how to connect the ERG knowledge and DMD knowledge together to implement the objective of my FYP. I want to know whether we need electrodes in my FYP or just establish a proper monitor.

3.       Plans for Next Week:

Next week, I will spend a lot of time on my FYP. This week I really did few tasks and merely spent less than one day. Next week, I will spend two to three days to do my FYP. To begin with, I will continue to read literatures about both ERG test and CRT or LCD monitors. I should understand them fully not partially. Then on the basis of those knowledge, I will think about how to conduct my FYP. If my equipment arrives, I will investigate how to use it. Now I still face a lot of confuses and even misunderstandings about my FYP, and I should make any effort to have a clear and correct cognition of my FYP as soon as possible.

4.       Reference：

1, Electroretinography, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 11 April 2005 (accessed 19 January 2007),http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003388.htm