After finishing his internship at the
Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, he moved to Baltimore where at
Johns Hopkins medical institutions, Aguayo-Martel led a research team as the associate director of NMR Research, which developed Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (
NMR)
Microscopy, a technique for non-invasively obtaining microscopic three-dimensional images of living objects. The technique first applied to a single
living cell signaled the advent of a new class of instruments which would eventually allow monitoring cellular structures and their biochemistry inside the human body, or to perform "biopsies" without needles or surgery. He applied his MR microscopy to the study of ocular tissues and tumors and used
histological correlation to refine his technique. He was the first to study the
biophysical properties of
vitreous using NMR
spectroscopy and imaging. After the
analysis of this ocular structure, he extended his research into the area of
vitreous hemorrhage (bleeding into the eye), an area of great importance in loss of
sight. During this time period, he explored the use of three dimensional computerized tomography (CT) for the localization and compositional evaluation of intraocular and orbital foreign bodies. He pioneered the technique of
deuterium NMR spectroscopy to study
metabolism in
biological systems. This technique extended the capabilities of existing NMR spectroscopy techniques used to investigate tissue metabolism. He applied his technique to the understanding of diabetic cataract formation and
corneal metabolism in order to create new and improved methods of tissue preservation for improved tissue transplantation. He developed a novel method for monitoring activity in multiple metabolic pathways (
hexose monophosphate shunt,
glycolysis, and the
polyol pathway) in the single living lens which allowed insight into the study of diabetic cataractogenesis. and applied to corneal tissue transplantation. His work culminated in the development of chemical shift NMR Microscopy, which combined Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy analysis while working at the Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research team applied the technique to the study of the living lens to study diabetic cataractogenesis. In 1987, Aguayo-Martel was an invited lecturer at the
American Physical Society; the Symposium of the Committee on Applications of Physics: Microtomography-New Three Dimensional Microscopy and presented Grand Rounds at the
National Eye Institute,
National Institutes of Health on "A New Model of Diabetic Cataractogenesis." The understanding of the metabolism of glucose into sorbitol in the diabetic state has led to the development of a class of
medications (
aldose reductase inhibitor) to prevent eye and nerve damage in people with diabetes. He has been noted for his work in low illumination
ophthalmoscopy and co-inventing the technique of Intraepikeratophakia a precursor to the technique of
LASIK. He serves as director of ocular trauma, chairman of the surgery department,
Mercy San Juan Medical Center; chief of ophthalmology, otolaryngology (ENT), and plastic surgery, Sutter Roseville Medical Center and manages ocular trauma for Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region. He is a fellow of the
American Academy of Ophthalmology. ==References==