Grating Visual Evoked Cortical Potentials in the Evaluation of Laser Bioeffects: Instrumentation

A system was designed to permit simultaneous viewing of the ocular fundus of the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta), the accurate placement of laser radiation on the retina, and the stimulation of the site to produce a grating visual evoked cortical potential (VECP). A fundus camera was modified to incorporate a grating whose image was projected onto the retina at specific locations. The evoked potential could thus be obtained for any rate of alternation before, during, and after the exposure of the fovea to any one of many laser sources. An example is shown of the use of this system to monitor the grating VECP before and after exposure of the animal's fundus to a 900 nm gallium arsenide laser source for 60 sec. In this case, changes were observed in the variability of the latency of components of the VECP when compared to the prelaser exposure potentials.