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Intrinsic optical signal (IOS) imaging promises to be a noninvasive method for high-resolution examination of retinal physiology, which can advance the study and diagnosis of eye diseases. While specialized optical instruments are desirable for functional IOS imaging of retinal physiology, in depth understanding of multiple IOS sources in the complex retinal neural network is essential for optimizing instrument designs. We provide a brief overview of IOS studies and relationships in rod outer segment suspensions, isolated retinas, and intact eyes. Recent developments of line-scan confocal and functional optical coherence tomography (OCT) instruments have allowed in vivo IOS mapping of photoreceptor physiology. Further improvements of the line-scan confocal and functional OCT systems may provide a feasible solution to pursue functional IOS mapping of human photoreceptors. Some interesting IOSs have already been detected in inner retinal layers, but better development of the IOS instruments and software algorithms is required to achieve optimal physiological assessment of inner retinal neurons. more...

A novel microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) actuation technique is developed for retinal scanning display and imaging applications allowing effective drive of a two-axes scanning mirror to wide angles at high frequency. Modeling of the device in mechanical and electrical domains, as well as the experimental characterization is described. Full optical scan angles of 65deg and 53deg are achieved for slow (60 Hz sawtooth) and fast (21.3 kHz sinusoid) scan directions, respectively. In combination with a mirror size of 1.5 mm, a resulting thetasopt D product of 79.5 degmiddotmm for fast axis is obtained. This two-dimensional (2-D) magnetic actuation technique delivers sufficient torque to allow non-resonant operation as low as dc in the slow-scan axis while at the same time allowing one-atmosphere operation even at fast-scan axis frequencies large enough to support SXGA (1280 times 1024) resolution scanned beam displays more...

To compare central corneal thickness (CCT) measurements taken with the Pentacam comprehensive eye scanner (CES), noncontact specular microscopy (SM), and ultrasound pachymetry (UP) in normal and keratoconic corneas.Department of Ophthalmology, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.In a prospective study, 3 CCT measurements were taken with the Pentacam CES, SM, and UP in that sequence from 1 eye of 45 consecutive patients with myopia (group A) and 62 consecutive patients with keratoconus (group B). Eyes with keratoconus were further divided into 3 subgroups, mild, moderate, and severe, according to the mean keratometry readings.Pentacam CES (r = 0.994) and UP (r = 0.993) demonstrated very high and comparable reproducibility in group A. In group B, Pentacam CES displayed better reproducibility (r = 0.988) than UP (r = 0.969) and SM (r = 0.901). The mean CCT measurements of Pentacam CES and UP were not significantly different in group A (P = .37) and in eyes with mild keratoconus (P = .29), whereas significant differences between all instrument pairs were evident in group B and in moderate and severely keratoconic eyes (P.05). Noncontact SM measurements were significantly smaller than those of Pentacam CES and UP in all groups (P.05) when a measurement could be obtained. There were significant linear correlations between CCT measurements of Pentacam CES, UP, and noncontact SM in groups A, B, and mildly keratoconic eyes (P.001).Results suggest that whereas Pentacam CES and UP may be used interchangeably in normal eyes in the clinical setting for the measurement of CCT, one should be cautious interpreting corneal thickness data from Pentacam CES, UP, and particularly SM in eyes with keratoconus. Whereas, in normal and mildly keratoconic eyes, Pentacam CES and UP demonstrated very high and comparable reproducibility, in moderately keratoconic eyes, Pentacam CES readings showed better reproducibility than UP. more...

A microelectromechanical system (MEMS) deformable membrane mirror is used to generate realistic 3D depth cues by variable focus. The monocular laser scanning display creates multiple focal planes that are optically superimposed over real world objects allowing augmented reality views to be registered in three dimensions. The display allows the viewer to see 3D objects using the natural accommodative response of the eye, unlike common stereographic displays, which uncouple the accommodation response. The MEMS deformable mirror varies a laser beam divergence simulating a beam from optical infinity to 33 cm distance (0–3 D). Measurements in human subjects show that subjects accommodated appropriately to the display. more...

High-resolution OCT retinal imaging is important in providing visualization of various retinal structures to aid researchers in better understanding the pathogenesis of vision-robbing diseases. However, conventional optical coherence tomography (OCT) systems have a trade-off between lateral resolution and depth-of-focus. In this report, we present the development of a focus-stacking optical coherence tomography (OCT) system with automatic optimization for high-resolution, extended-focal-range clinical retinal imaging. A variable-focus liquid lens was added to correct for de-focus in real-time. A GPU-accelerated segmentation and optimization was used to provide real-time layer-specific enface visualization as well as depth-specific focus adjustment. After optimization, multiple volumes focused at different depths were acquired, registered, and stitched together to yield a single, high-resolution focus-stacked dataset. Using this system, we show high-resolution images of the ONH, from which we extracted clinically-relevant parameters such as the nerve fiber layer thickness and lamina cribrosa microarchitecture. more...

We present a new design for a wavefront sensorless adaptive optics (WS-AO) Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) system for small animal retinal imaging in vivo. Without the optical complications necessary for inclusion of a wavefront sensor in the optical system, this version of WS-AO FD-OCT system has a simplified optical design, including elimination of long focal length scanning optics and optical conjugation of vertical and horizontal scanners. This modification provides a modular large Field of View for retinal screening (25 degree visual angle), while also allowing a “zoom” capability for allocating all the scanning resources to a smaller region of interest, allowing high resolution aberration-corrected imaging. In the present system we used a 0 Dpt contact lens to stabilize the mouse eye position and to allow long duration imaging. Defocus (axial focus position) in our system is controlled by the collimation of the OCT sample arm entrance beam. more...

A compact, non-invasive multi-modal system has been developed for in vivo mouse retina imaging. It is configured for simultaneously detecting green and red fluorescent protein signals with scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO) back-scattered light from the SLO illumination beam, and depth information about different retinal layers by means of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). Simultaneous assessment of retinal characteristics with different modalities can provide a wealth of information about the structural and functional changes in the retinal neural tissue and chorio-retinal vasculature in vivo . Additionally, simultaneous acquisition of multiple channels facilitates analysis of the data of different modalities by automatic temporal and structural co-registration. As an example of the instrument’s performance we imaged the retina of a mouse with constitutive expression of GFP in microglia cells (Cx3 cr1 GFP/+ ), and which also expressed the red fluorescent protein mCherry in Muller glial cells by means of adeno-associated virus delivery (AAV2) of an mCherry cDNA driven by the GFAP (glial fibrillary acid protein) promoter. more...

AO has achieved success in a range of applications in ophthalmology where microstructures need to be identified, counted, and mapped. Multiple images are averaged to improve the SNR or analyzed for temporal dynamics. For small patches, image registration by cross-correlation is straightforward. Larger images require more sophisticated registration techniques. Strip-based registration has been used successfully for photoreceptor mosaic alignment in small patches; however, if the deformations along long strips are not simple displacements, averaging will actually degrade the images. We have applied non-rigid registration that significantly improves the quality of processed images for mapping cones and rods, and microvasculature in dark-field imaging. Local grid deformations account for local image stretching and compression due to a number of causes. Individual blood cells can be traced along capillaries in high-speed imaging (130 fps) and flow dynamics can be analyzed. more...

The lateral resolution of a Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) image is limited by the focusing properties of the OCT imaging probe optics, the wavelength range which SD-OCT system operates at, spherical and chromatic aberrations induced by the imaging optics, the optical properties of the imaged object, and in the special case of in-vivo retinal imaging by the optics of the eye. This limitation often results in challenges with resolving fine details and structures of the imaged sample outside of the Depth-Of-Focus (DOF) range. We propose a novel technique for generating Laterally Resolved OCT (LR-OCT) images using OCT measurements acquired with intentional imbrications. The proposed, novel method is based on a Maximum A Posteriori (MAP) reconstruction framework which takes advantage of a Stochastic Fully Connected Conditional Random Field (SFCRF) model to compensate for the artifacts and noise when reconstructing a LR-OCT image from imbricated OCT measurement. The proposed lateral resolution enhancement method was tested on synthetic OCT measurement as well as on a human cornea SDOCT image to evaluate the usefulness of the proposed approach in lateral resolution enhancement. Experimental results show that applying this method to OCT images, noticeably improves the sharpness of morphological features in the OCT image and in lateral direction, thus demonstrating better delineation of fine dot shape details in the synthetic OCT test, as well as better delineation of the keratocyte cells in the human corneal OCT test image. more...

Many applications could benefit from miniaturized systems to scan blood vessels behind the retina in the human eye, so called „retina scanning“. This reaches from access control to sophisticated security applications and medical devices. High volume systems for consumer applications require low cost and a user friendly operation. For example this includes no need for removal of glasses and self-adjustment, in turn guidance of focus and point of attraction by simultaneous projection for the user. A new system has been designed based on the well-known resonantly driven 2-d scanner mirror of Fraunhofer IPMS. A combined NIR and VIS laser system illuminates the eye through an eye piece designed for an operating distance allowing the use of glasses and granting sufficient field of view. This usability feature was considered to be more important than highest miniaturization. The modulated VIS laser facilitates the projection of an image directly onto the retina. The backscattered light from the continuous NIR laser contains the information of the blood vessels and is detected by a highly sensitive photo diode. A demonstrational setup has been realized including readout and driving electronics. The laser power was adjusted to an eye-secure level. Additional security features were integrated. Test measurements revealed promising results. In a first demonstration application the detection of biometric pattern of the blood vessels was evaluated for issues authentication in. more...

A digital light projector is implemented as an integrated illumination source and scanning element in a confocal non-mydriatic retinal camera, the Digital Light Ophthalmoscope (DLO). To simulate scanning, a series of illumination lines are rapidly projected on the retina. The backscattered light is imaged onto a 2-dimensional rolling shutter CMOS sensor. By temporally and spatially overlapping the illumination lines with the rolling shutter, confocal imaging is achieved. This approach enables a low cost, flexible, and robust design with a small footprint. The 3rd generation DLO technical design is presented, using a DLP LightCrafter 4500 and USB3.0 CMOS sensor. Specific improvements over previous work include the use of yellow illumination, filtered from the broad green LED spectrum, to obtain strong blood absorption and high contrast images while reducing pupil constriction and patient discomfort. more...

© 2015 SPIE. We describe the design and performance of a recently implemented retinal imaging system for the human eye that combines adaptive optics (AO) with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) and scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO). The AO-OCT-SLO system simultaneously acquires SLO frames and OCT B-scans at 60 Hz with an OCT volume acquisition scan rate of 0.24 Hz. The SLO images are used to correct for eye motion during the registration of OCT B-scans. Key optical design considerations are discussed including: minimizing system aberrations through the use of off-axis relay telescopes; choice of telescope magnification based on pupil plane requirements and restrictions; and the use of dichroic beam splitters to separate and re-combine OCT and SLO beams around the nonshared horizontal scanning mirrors. We include an analysis of closed-loop AO correction on a model eye and compare these findings with system performance in vivo. The 2D and 3D OCT scans included in this work demonstrate the ability of this system to laterally and axially resolve individual cone photoreceptors, while the corresponding SLO images show the en face mosaics at the photoreceptor layer showing rods and cones. Images from both healthy and diseased retina are presented. more...

We present a multiscale sensorless adaptive optics (SAO) OCT system capable of imaging retinal structure and vasculature with various fields-of-view (FOV) and resolutions. Using a single deformable mirror and exploiting the polarization properties of light, the SAO-OCT-A was implemented in a compact and easy to operate system. With the ability to adjust the beam diameter at the pupil, retinal imaging was demonstrated at two different numerical apertures with the same system. The general morphological structure and retinal vasculature could be observed with a few tens of micrometer-scale lateral resolution with conventional OCT and OCT-A scanning protocols with a 1.7-mm-diameter beam incident at the pupil and a large FOV (15 deg× 15 deg). Changing the system to a higher numerical aperture with a 5.0-mm-diameter beam incident at the pupil and the SAO aberration correction, the FOV was reduced to 3 deg× 3 deg for fine detailed imaging of morphological structure and microvasculature such as the photoreceptor mosaic and capillaries. Multiscale functional SAO-OCT imaging was performed on four healthy subjects, demonstrating its functionality and potential for clinical utility. more...

With the miniaturization of scanning mirrors and the emergence of wearable health monitoring, an intriguing step is to investigate the potential of a laser scanning ophthalmoscope (LSO) for retinal imaging with wearable glasses. In addition to providing morphological information of the retina, such as vasculature, LSO images could also be used to provide information on general health conditions. A compact eyeglass with LSO capability would give access, on demand, to retinal parameters without disturbing the subject's activity. One of the main challenges in this field is the creation of a device that does not interrupt the user's field of view. We report, to our knowledge, the first see-through ophthalmoscope. The system is analyzed with three-dimensional simulations and tested in a proof-of-concept setup with the same key parameters of a wearable device. Finally, image quality is analyzed by acquiring images of an ex-vivo human eye sample. (C) The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI. more...

We present a 3-path optical system for studying the retinal movement of jumping spiders: a visible OLED virtual reality system presents stimulus, while NIR illumination and imaging systems observe retinal movement. more...

A compact, high-speed line scanning quasi-confocal ophthalmoscope (LSO) for retina imaging is presented in this paper. By using a line beam to illuminate the retina, meanwhile a linear array sensor is used for imaging the retina, the LSO system significantly reduces the size, complexity, and cost comparing to a conventional confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope (CSLO). With only one moving scanner to provide raster scanning of the line beam of the retina, the imaging frequency achieves 160 Hz and the lateral resolution is nearly 10 μm for 1024×330 pixels imaging mode. Preliminary experiments are performed for imaging the macula, the optic nerve head and other targets, providing high resolution and high speed videos of human retina. more...

There is an increasing need for reliable authentication for a number of applications such as e commerce. Common authentication methods based on ownership (ID card) or knowledge factors (password, PIN) are often prone to manipulations and may therefore be not safe enough. Various inherence factor based methods like fingerprint, retinal pattern or voice identifications are considered more secure. Retina scanning in particular offers both low false rejection rate (FRR) and low false acceptance rate (FAR) with about one in a million. Images of the retina with its characteristic pattern of blood vessels can be made with either a fundus camera or laser scanning methods. The present work describes the optical design of a new compact retina laser scanner which is based on MEMS (Micro Electric Mechanical System) technology. The use of a dual axis micro scanning mirror for laser beam deflection enables a more compact and robust design compared to classical systems. The scanner exhibits a full field of view of 10° which corresponds to an area of 4 mm2 on the retinal surface surrounding the optical disc. The system works in the near infrared and is designed for use under ambient light conditions, which implies a pupil diameter of 1.5 mm. Furthermore it features a long eye relief of 30 mm so that it can be conveniently used by persons wearing glasses. The optical design requirements and the optical performance are discussed in terms of spot diagrams and ray fan plots. more...

A micro-sensor that merges sensing and scanning functions on a single-chip has been designed and fabricated, resulting in the successful design of the first integrated scanning retina of its kind. A microfabrication technique has been developed in order to combine a microlens array together with a photo-diode array and an electrostatically driven scanning slit on a single chip. The movement of the electrostatic scanner generates an effect similar to that of "retinal scanning vergence" found in the insects' compound eyes. With the fully integrated silicon scanning retina with a micro mechanical scanner, we propose a new architecture of Retinal Scanning which enhances the resolution of a visual sensor. more...

A microsensor that merges sensing and scanning functions on a single chip has been designed and fabricated, resulting in the first integrated scanning retina of its kind. A microfabrication technique has been developed to combine a one-dimensional array of photodiodes and electrostatically driven scanning slits on a single chip. The scanner actuates 12-/spl mu/m-wide microslits by up to 20 /spl mu/m on top of 30-/spl mu/m-wide photodiodes, and the motion generates an effect similar to that of the retinal scanning vergence found in the insects' compound eyes. The silicon retina is coupled with an array of 120-/spl mu/m-diameter microlenses to compose a microsized scanning compound eye, and the effect of retinal scanning in edge and position detection is demonstrated with the sensor. Each individual visual unit of the compound eye detects light contrast due to the scanning motion of the visual axis. The architecture of this scanning retina increases the resolution of a visual system with a relatively small number of receptors. more...

Proposes a design of a biomorphic micro visual sensor equipped with a mechanical scanning system. The sensor is inspired by the structure of the fly's compound eye, which was found to possess a unique muscle and tendon actuation system for its scanning retina. The improvement in micro-opto-electro-mechanical systems encourages the design of reliable, efficient, and integrated smart visual sensors for robotic applications, in particular, for the autonomous visually guided navigation of mobile robots. The authors have verified the effect of retinal scanning for a robotic visual system through the construction of a large-scale prototype at the millimeter scale. The performance of a newly fabricated microelectromechanical system prototype whose size approaches the order of the insects' compound eyes is then evaluated in comparison with that of the large-scale prototype. The micro-sized visual sensor is composed of a scanning microlens array (120 /spl mu/m in lens diameter) and a photo-diode array. The actuation of the microlens array induces a rotation of the visual axes. According to the principle of retinal scanning, the micro-sensor is able to retrieve the local angular velocity with enhanced reliability. more...

The advancement in new technologies has significantly resulted more perfection in authentication issues. In ATM machine, access permission is usually taking personal identification numbers (PIN) for authentication. Through this paper, this old method is being exhausted by introducing a combination of embedded 3 layered bio-metric molding to setup an ATM simulator. Finger print scanner, retina scanner followed by the onetime password (OTP) will help the user for smart and secured tractions. It will reduced the duplication and makes the ATM machine more secured compare to current version. more...

A two-axis microelectromechanical systems micromirror actuator is developed for retinal scanning display and imaging applications. The device operation makes use of magnetostatic torque produced by the combination of a flux generating custom-made high-frequency electrocoil and the NiFe layer deposited on the movable part. Modeling of the actuation in the magnetic domain, as well as the experimental characterization of the mechanical part is described. The device is capable of full optical scan angles of 88deg (at 100-mA root-mean-square coil current) and 1.8deg for slow and fast-scan directions, respectively. In combination with a mirror size of 1.5 mm, resulting thetasoptmiddotD products are 132degmiddotmm and 2.7degmiddotmm for slow and fast axis, respectively. Atmospheric operation of the device is enabled due to high mechanical quality factors of the order of 3000 more...

Adaptive optics (AO) using digital holography (DH) is more effective in terms of complexity and cost than other AO techniques. However, use of coherent illumination is problematic in applying DHAO for retinal imaging because of speckle noise. Self-interference incoherent digital holography (SIDH) is a technique to record holographic information from the object illuminated by incoherent light. By adopting SIDH for the full-field imaging, the speckle noise problem can be avoided with incoherent illumination. However, the guide-star hologram for AO requires the guide-star to be smaller than retinal cell size to achieve sufficient resolution. Hence, the proposed SIDH AO system is configured with a hybrid illumination system which uses incoherent illumination for recording of full-field hologram while laser is used for guide-star hologram. Preliminary experiment using an array of micro-spheres for the object shows that the full-field hologram and guide-star hologram can be recorded by proposed optical configuration. more...

Since the first demonstration of swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) imaging using widely tunable micro-electromechanical systems vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (MEMS-VCSELs) in 2011, VCSEL-based SSOCT has advanced in both device and system performance. These advances include extension of MEMS-VCSEL center wavelength to both 1060nm and 1300nm, improved tuning range and tuning speed, new SS-OCT imaging modes, and demonstration of the first electrically pumped devices. Optically pumped devices have demonstrated continuous singlemode tuning range of 150nm at 1300nm and 122nm at 1060nm, representing a fractional tuning range of 11.5%, which is nearly a factor of 3 greater than the best reported MEMS-VCSEL tuning ranges prior to 2011. These tuning ranges have also been achieved with wavelength modulation rates of >500kHz, enabling >1 MHz axial scan rates. In addition, recent electrically pumped devices have exhibited 48.5nm continuous tuning range around 1060nm with 890kHz axial scan rate, representing a factor of two increase in tuning over previously reported electrically pumped MEMS-VCSELs in this wavelength range. New imaging modes enabled by optically pumped devices at 1060nm and 1300nm include full eye length imaging, pulsatile Doppler blood flow imaging, high-speed endoscopic imaging, and hand-held wide-field retinal imaging. more...

We demonstrate Adaptive optics - Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) with modal sensorless Adaptive Optics correction with the use of novel Adaptive Lens (AL) applied for in-vivo imaging of mouse retinas. The AL can generate low order aberrations: defocus, astigmatism, coma and spherical aberration that were used in an adaptive search algorithm. Accelerated processing of the OCT data with a Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) permitted real time extraction of image projection total intensity for arbitrarily selected retinal depth plane to be optimized. Wavefront sensorless control is a viable option for imaging biological structures for which AOOCT cannot establish a reliable wavefront that could be corrected by wavefront corrector. Image quality improvements offered by adaptive lens with sensorless AO-OCT was evaluated on in vitro samples followed by mouse retina data acquired in vivo. more...

In regenerative medicine, the zebrafish is a prominent animal model for studying degeneration and regeneration processes, e.g. of photoreceptor cells in the retina. By means of optical coherence tomography (OCT), these studies can be conducted over weeks using the same individual and hence reducing the variability of the results. To allow an improvement of zebrafish retinal OCT imaging by suitable optics, we developed a zebrafish eye model using geometrical data obtained by in vivo dispersion encoded full range OCT as well as a dispersion comprising gradient index (GRIN) lens model based on refractive index data found in the literature. Using non-sequential ray tracing, the focal length of the spherical GRIN lens (diameter of 0.96 mm) was determined to be 1.22 mm at 800 nm wavelength giving a Matheissen’s ratio (ratio of focal length to radius of the lens) of 2.54, which fits well into the range between 2.19 and 2.82, found for various fish lenses. Additionally, a mean refractive index of 1.64 at 800 nm could be retrieved for the lens to yield the same focal position as found for the GRIN condition. With the aid of the zebrafish eye model, the optics of the OCT scanner head were adjusted to provide high-resolution retinal images with a field of view of 30° x 30°. The introduced model therefore provides the basis for improved retinal imaging with OCT and can be further used to study the image formation within the zebrafish eye. more...

Non-invasive fluorescence retinal imaging in small animals is an important requirement in an array of translational vision applications. Two-photon imaging has the potential for long-term investigation of healthy and diseased retinal function and structure in vivo. Here, we demonstrate that two-photon microscopy through a mouse’s pupil can yield high-quality optically sectioned fundus images. By remotely scanning using an electronically tunable lens we acquire highly-resolved 3D fluorescein angiograms. These results provide an important step towards various applications that will benefit from the use of infrared light, including functional imaging of retinal responses to light stimulation. more...

The objective of this project was to develop and demonstrate a portable, low-priced, easy to use non-mydriatic retinal camera for eye disease screening in underserved urban and rural locations. Existing portable retinal imagers do not meet the requirements of a low-cost camera with sufficient technical capabilities (field of view, image quality, portability, battery power, and ease-of-use) to be distributed widely to low volume clinics, such as the offices of single primary care physicians serving rural communities or other economically stressed healthcare facilities. Our approach for Smart i-Rx is based primarily on a significant departure from current generations of desktop and hand-held commercial retinal cameras as well as those under development. Our techniques include: 1) Exclusive use of off-the-shelf components; 2) Integration of retinal imaging device into low-cost, high utility camera mount and chin rest; 3) Unique optical and illumination designed for small form factor; and 4) Exploitation of autofocus technology built into present digital SLR recreational cameras; and 5) Integration of a polarization technique to avoid the corneal reflex. In a prospective study, 41 out of 44 diabetics were imaged successfully. No imaging was attempted on three of the subjects due to noticeably small pupils (less than 2mm). The images were of sufficient quality to detect abnormalities related to diabetic retinopathy, such as microaneurysms and exudates. These images were compared with ones taken non-mydriatically with a Canon CR-1 Mark II camera. No cases identified as having DR by expert retinal graders were missed in the Smart i-Rx images. more...

When using scanning laser ophthalmoscopy to produce images of the eye fundus, maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limits must be considered. These limits are set out in international standards such as the National Standards Institute ANSI Z136.1 Safe Use of Lasers (USA) and BS EN 60825-1: 1994 (UK) and corresponding Euro norms but these documents do not explicitly consider the case of scanned beams. Our study aims to show how MPE values can be calculated for the specific case of retinal scanning by taking into account an array of parameters, such as wavelength, exposure duration, type of scanning, line rate and field size, and how each set of initial parameters results in MPE values that correspond to thermal or photochemical damage to the retina. more...

The Virtual Retinal Display (VRD) is a visual display that scans modulated laser light on to the retina of the viewer's eye to create an image. Maximum permissible exposures (MPE) have been calculated for the VRD in both normal viewing and possible failure modes. The MPE power levels are compared to the measured power that enters the eye while viewing images with the VRD. The power levels indicate that the VRD is safe in both normal operating mode and in failure modes. more...

The blood vessels only in Human eye retinal can be observed directly. Many diseases that are not obvious in their early symptom can be diagnosed through observing the changes of distal micro blood vessel. In order to obtain the high resolution human retinal images,an adaptive optical system for correcting the aberration of the human eye was designed by using the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor and the Liquid Crystal Spatial Light Modulator(LCLSM) .For a subject eye with 8m -1 (8D)myopia, the wavefront error is reduced to 0.084 λ PV and 0.12 λRMS after adaptive optics(AO) correction ,which has reached diffraction limit.The results show that the LCLSM based AO system has the ability of correcting the aberration of the human eye efficiently,and making the blurred photoreceptor cell to clearly image on a CCD camera. more...

The microvasculature network of retina plays an important role in the study and diagnosis of retinal diseases (age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy for example). Although it is possible to noninvasively acquire high-resolution retinal images with modern retinal imaging technologies, non-uniform illumination, the low contrast of thin vessels and the background noises all make it difficult for diagnosis. In this paper, we introduce a novel retinal vessel extraction algorithm based on gradient vector flow and matched filtering to segment retinal vessels with different likelihood. Firstly, we use isotropic Gaussian kernel and adaptive histogram equalization to smooth and enhance the retinal images respectively. Secondly, a multi-scale matched filtering method is adopted to extract the retinal vessels. Then, the gradient vector flow algorithm is introduced to locate the edge of the retinal vessels. Finally, we combine the results of matched filtering method and gradient vector flow algorithm to extract the vessels at different likelihood levels. The experiments demonstrate that our algorithm is efficient and the intensities of vessel images exactly represent the likelihood of the vessels. more...

A high-speed (100 kHz A-scans/s) complex conjugate resolved 1 μ swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) system using coherence revival of the light source is suitable for dense three-dimensional (3-D) imaging of the anterior segment. The short acquisition time helps to minimize the influence of motion artifacts. The extended depth range of the SS-OCT system allows topographic analysis of clinically relevant images of the entire depth of the anterior segment of the eye. Patients with the type 1 Boston Keratoprosthesis (KPro) require evaluation of the full anterior segment depth. Current commercially available OCT systems are not suitable for this application due to limited acquisition speed, resolution, and axial imaging range. Moreover, most commonly used research grade and some clinical OCT systems implement a commercially available SS (Axsun) that offers only 3.7 mm imaging range (in air) in its standard configuration. We describe implementation of a common swept laser with built-in k-clock to allow phase stable imaging in both low range and high range, 3.7 and 11.5 mm in air, respectively, without the need to build an external MZI k-clock. As a result, 3-D morphology of the KPro position with respect to the surrounding tissue could be investigated in vivo both at high resolution and with large depth range to achieve noninvasive and precise evaluation of success of the surgical procedure. © The Authors. more...

Retinal imaging with optical coherence tomography (OCT) has rapidly advanced in ophthalmic applications with the broad availability of Fourier domain (FD) technology in commercial systems. The high sensitivity afforded by FD-OCT has enabled imaging of the choroid, a layer of blood vessels serving the outer retina. Improved visualization of the choroid and the choroid-sclera boundary has been investigated using techniques such as enhanced depth imaging (EDI), and also with OCT systems operating in the 1060-nm wavelength range. We report on a comparison of imaging the macular choroid with commercial and prototype OCT systems, and present automated 3D segmentation of the choroid-scleral layer using a graph cut algorithm. The thickness of the choroid is an important measurement to investigate for possible correlation with severity, or possibly early diagnosis, of diseases such as age-related macular degeneration. more...

Retinal recognition by using compression-based joint transform correlator (JTC) is proposed. Recognition performance is quantitatively measured by taking into account effect of imbalanced illuminations and noise presence. The simulation results show that the compression-based JTC has reliable recognition performance for high-contrast retina target. Besides acceleration of image transfer time, the compression of the noise-corrupted retina target images can improve the correlator robustness to noise. more...

Adaptive optics (AO) technology has enabled dramatic improvement in imaging performance for fields spanning astronomy, defense, microscopy, and retinal imaging. A critical component within the AO systems is the deformable mirror (DM) that implements the actual wavefront correction. This paper introduces the Iris AO segmented MEMS DM technology with an overview of the fabrication process and a description of the DM operation. The paper demonstrates correction capabilities of 111 and 489 actuator DMs and describes recent effort for scaling to 1000-actuator class DMs. Finally, the paper presents laser testing results of dielectric coated DMs and describes the development path for MEMS DMs capable of 2.8 kW/cm2 average laser power. more...

Small animal models of retinal diseases are important to vision research, and noninvasive high resolution in vivo rodent retinal imaging is becoming an increasingly important tool used in this field. We present a custom Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) instrument for high resolution imaging of mouse retina. In order to overcome aberrations in the mouse eye, we incorporated a commercial adaptive optics system into the sample arm of the refractive FD-OCT system. Additionally, a commercially available refraction canceling lens was used to reduce lower order aberrations and specular back-reflection from the cornea. Performance of the adaptive optics (AO) system for correcting residual wavefront aberration in the mice eyes is presented. Results of AO FD-OCT images of mouse retina acquired in vivo with and without AO correction are shown as well. more...

We present a new design for a reflective afocal AO-OCT retinal imaging system. The optical performance of this instrument is compared to our previous multimodal AO-OCT/AO-SLO retinal imaging system. The feasibility of new instrumentation for improved visualization of microscopic retinal structures will be discussed. Examples of images acquired with this new AO-OCT instrument will be presented. © 2013 Copyright SPIE. more...

Small animal models of human retinal diseases are a critical component of vision research. In this report, we present an ultrahigh-resolution ultrahigh-speed adaptive optics optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT) system for small animal retinal imaging (mouse, fish, etc.). We adapted our imaging system to different types of small animals in accordance with the optical properties of their eyes. Results of AO-OCT images of small animal retinas acquired with AO correction are presented. Cellular structures including nerve fiber bundles, capillary networks and detailed double-cone photoreceptors are visualized. more...

We are developing adaptive optics systems for aberration corrections in retinal imaging based on digital holography. Compared to existing technologies of adaptive optics, our systems do not have hardware components such as lenslet arrays or deformable mirrors. Instead, wavefront sensing and correction are done by acquisition and numerical manipulation of optical phase by digital holography, thereby substantially reducing hardware complexity and introducing novel imaging capabilities. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate capabilities of this novel imaging system. more...

We present a novel, high-speed, polarization-sensitive, optical coherence tomography set-up for retinal imaging operating at a central wavelength of 1060 nm which was tested for in vivo imaging in healthy human volunteers. We use the system in combination with a Fourier domain mode locked laser with active spectral shaping which enables the use of forward and backward sweep in order to double the imaging speed without a buffering stage. With this approach and with a custom designed data acquisition system, we show polarization-sensitive imaging with an A-scan rate of 350 kHz. The acquired three-dimensional data sets of healthy human volunteers show different polarization characteristics in the eye, such as depolarization in the retinal pigment epithelium and birefringence in retinal nerve fiber layer and sclera. The increased speed allows imaging of large volumes with reduced motion artifacts. Moreover, averaging several two-dimensional frames allows the generation of high-definition B-scans without the use of an eye-tracking system. The increased penetration depth of the system, which is caused by the longer probing beam wavelength, is beneficial for imaging choroidal and scleral structures and allows automated segmentation of these layers based on their polarization characteristics. more...

Young and/or autistic children cannot be imaged with tabletop or handheld optical coherence tomography (OCT) because of their lack of attention and fear of large objects close to their face. We demonstrate a prototype retinal swept-source OCT system with a long working distance (from the last optical element to the subject’s eye) to facilitate pediatric imaging. To reduce the number of optical elements and axial length compared to the traditional 4f telescope, we employ a compact 2f retinal scanning configuration and achieve a working distance of 350 mm with a 16° OCT field of view. We test our prototype system on pediatric and adult subjects. © 2016 Optical Society of America more...

We describe a computer-aided measuring tool, named parapapillary atrophy and optic disc region assessment (PANDORA), for automated detection and quantification of both the parapapillary atrophy (PPA) and the optic disc (OD) regions in two-dimensional color retinal fundus images. The OD region is segmented using a combination of edge detection and ellipse fitting methods. The PPA region is identified by the presence of bright pixels in the temporal zone of the OD, and it is segmented using a sequence of techniques, including a modified Chan-Vese approach, thresholding, scanning filter, and multiseed region growing. PANDORA has been tested with 133 color retinal images (82 with PPA; 51 without PPA) drawn randomly from the Lothian Birth Cohort (LBC) database, together with a "ground truth" estimate from an ophthalmologist. The PPA detection rate is 89.47% with a sensitivity of 0.83 and a specificity of 1. The mean accuracy in defining the OD region is 81.31% (SD=10.45 ) when PPA is present and 95.32% (SD=4.36 ) when PPA is absent. The mean accuracy in defining the PPA region is 73.57% (SD=11.62 ). PANDORA demonstrates for the first time how to quantify the OD and PPA regions using two-dimensional fundus images, enabling ophthalmologists to study ocular diseases related to PPA using a standard fundus camera. more...

A three-beam spectral domain optical coherence tomography system (OCT) whose center wavelength is 840 nm was developed. The three beams focus on fundus 3.1 mm apart from each other and are detected by a single line sensor. The distance between the beams is fixed and the beams scan a total area of 10×10 mm 2 while keeping this separation during three-dimensional (3-D) measurement. The line rate of the sensor is 70 kHz, therefore the total speed is equivalent to 210k A-scans per second in this system. A 1000(x)×500(z)×250(y) voxel volumetric 3D OCT data set can be acquired within 2 s. Images of a model eye, a healthy human eye and a diseased eye taken by this system are shown and evaluated. The image quality of one B-Scan is as good as an image from a single-beam OCT. Adjustment among the beams is solved by additional signal processing using a model eye. A multi-beam OCT has the potential not only for high speed imaging but also functional imaging although problems such as compensation among the beams and motion artifacts must be solved. more...

The physiological and pathological properties of retina are closely associated with various optical contrasts. Hence, integrating different ophthalmic imaging technologies is more beneficial in both fundamental investigation and clinical diagnosis of several blinding diseases. Recently, photoacoustic ophthalmoscopy (PAOM) was developed for in vivo retinal imaging in small animals, which demonstrated the capability of imaging retinal vascular networks and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) at high sensitivity. We combined PAOM with traditional imaging modalities, such as fluorescein angiography (FA), spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), and auto-fluorescence scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (AF-SLO), for imaging rats and mice. The multimodal imaging system provided more comprehensive evaluation of the retina based on the complementary imaging contrast mechanisms. The high-quality retinal images show that the integrated ophthalmic imaging system has great potential in the investigation of blinding disorders. more...

The use of Adaptive Optics (AO) in ophthalmologic instruments to image human retinas has been probed to improve the imaging lateral resolution, by correcting both static and dynamic aberrations inherent in human eyes. Typically, the configuration of the AO arm uses an infrared beam from a superluminescent diode (SLD), which is focused on the retina, acting as a point source. The back reflected light emerges through the eye optical system bringing with it the aberrations of the cornea. The aberrated wavefront is measured with a Shack – Hartmann wavefront sensor (SHWFS). However, the aberrations in the optical imaging system can reduced the performance of the wave front correction. The aim of this work is to present an optimized first stage AO experimental setup for in vivo retinal imaging. In our proposal, the imaging optical system has been designed in order to reduce spherical aberrations due to the lenses. The ANSI Standard is followed assuring the safety power levels. The performance of the system will be compared with a commercial aberrometer. This system will be used as the AO arm of a flood-illuminated fundus camera system for retinal imaging. We present preliminary experimental results showing the enhancement. more...

Retina blood vessels have high degree of uniqueness making retina based biometric systems as an emerging security and authentication mechanism. With increased advancement in digitization of authentication and medical image processing, there is demand of accurate and faster digital image processing. Wavelets are excellent in extracting localized texture information in digital images. Blood vessels have vessels with different thickness and width; they can be analyzed using multi-resolution analysis method. A retina feature, named wavelet energy feature (WEF) is defined in this paper, employing wavelet, which is a powerful tool of multi-resolution analysis. WEF can reflect the wavelet energy distribution of vessels with different thickness and width in several directions at different wavelet decomposition levels, so its ability to discriminate retinas is very strong. This paper also presents new and faster type of wavelets called Kekre's wavelets for creating WEF and extracting retinal feature vector. Wavelet energy entropies based on Kekre wavelets are calculated for retina features and used for match using Euclidian distance. The paper finds retinal match accuracy using Kekre wavelet better than Haar wavelets. Use of wavelet for segmenting the blood vessels and use of Energy Entropy for feature extraction holds promise of simplicity and computationally less expensive. more...

PURPOSE: To present a commercially available optical modeling software tool to assist the development of optical instrumentation and systems that utilize and/or integrate with the human eye. METHODS: A commercially available flexible eye modeling system is presented, the Advanced Human Eye Model (AHEM). AHEM is a module that the engineer can use to perform rapid development and test scenarios on systems that integrate with the eye. Methods include merging modeled systems initially developed outside of AHEM and performing a series of wizard-type operations that relieve the user from requiring an optometric or ophthalmic background to produce a complete eye inclusive system. Scenarios consist of retinal imaging of targets and sources through integrated systems. Uses include, but are not limited to, optimization, telescopes, microscopes, spectacles, contact and intraocular lenses, ocular aberrations, cataract simulation and scattering, and twin eye model (binocular) systems. RESULTS: Metrics, graphical data, and exportable CAD geometry are generated from the various modeling scenarios. more...

Microglia are the resident immune cells of the central nervous system and play a crucial role in maintaining neuronal health and function. Their dynamic behavior, that is, the constant extension and retraction of microglia processes, is thought to be critical for communication between microglia and their cellular neighbors, such as neurons, astrocytes and vascular endothelial cells. Here, we investigated the morphology and dynamics of retinal microglia in vivo under normal conditions and in response to focal laser injury of blood vessel endothelial wall, using a scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) designed specifically for imaging the retina of live mice. The multichannel confocal imaging system allows retinal microstructure, such as the processes of microglia and retinal vasculature, to be visualized simultaneously. In order to generate focal laser injury, a photocoagulator based on a continuous wave (cw) laser was coupled into the SLO. An acousto-optic modulator chopped pulses from the cw laser. A tip-tilt-scanner was used to direct the laser beam into a blood vessel of interest under SLO image guidance. Mild coagulation was produced using millisecond-long pulses. Microglia react dynamically to focal laser injury of blood vessel endothelial walls. Under normal conditions, microglia somas remain stationary and the processes probe a territory of their immediate environment. In response to local injury, process movement velocity approximately doubles within minutes after injury. Moreover, the previously unpolarized process movement assumes a distinct directionality towards the injury site, indicating signaling between the injured tissue and the microglia. In vivo retinal imaging is a powerful tool for understanding the dynamic behavior of retinal cells. more...

The development of affordable means to image the retina is an important step toward the implementation of eye disease screening programs. In this paper we present the i-RxCam, a low-cost, hand-held, retinal camera for widespread applications such as tele-retinal screening for eye diseases like diabetic retinopathy (DR), glaucoma, and age-related ocular diseases. Existing portable retinal imagers do not meet the requirements of a low-cost camera with sufficient technical capabilities (field of view, image quality, portability, battery power, and ease-of-use) to be distributed widely to low volume clinics, such as the offices of single primary care physicians serving rural communities. The i-RxCam uses a Nikon D3100 digital camera body. The camera has a CMOS sensor with 14.8 million pixels. We use a 50mm focal lens that gives a retinal field of view of 45 degrees. The internal autofocus can compensate for about 2D (diopters) of focusing error. The light source is an LED produced by Philips with a linear emitting area that is transformed using a light pipe to the optimal shape at the eye pupil, an annulus. To eliminate corneal reflex we use a polarization technique in which the light passes through a nano-wire polarizer plate. This is a novel type of polarizer featuring high polarization separation (contrast ratio of more than 1000) and very large acceptance angle (>45 degrees). The i-RxCam approach will yield a significantly more economical retinal imaging device that would allow mass screening of the at-risk population. more...