Anterior segment transmission interference microscopic imaging device, method and system

Abstract

The invention provides an anterior segment transmission interference microscopic imaging device, method and system, and relates to the technical field of medical optical imaging and ophthalmic diagnosis. The single-frame imaging field of view is not less than 2mm * 1mm and is larger than that of a common clinical confocal microscope and a corneal endothelial mirror, so that the statistical reliability and the lesion detection rate can be improved; through a transmission interference mechanism, corneal nerves, epithelial cells and crystalline lens fine structures can be displayed in a high contrast manner, and the method is particularly suitable for low-scattering transparent tissues; a common-path optical structure is adopted, a reference arm or a high-speed scanning unit is not needed, and the system is small in size, low in cost and good in stability; in the examination process, contact with the ocular surface or introduction of a contrast agent is not needed, and discomfort and risks possibly caused by traditional contact type or intrusive type examination are avoided; the method can be used for corneal nerve evaluation, endothelial disease screening, crystalline lens microstructure observation and preoperative / postoperative follow-up visit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of medical optical imaging and ophthalmic diagnostic technology, and in particular to an anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging device, method, and system. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, clinical imaging of the anterior segment microstructure mainly relies on the following types of techniques: (1) Specular Microscopy: Based on the principle of specular reflection, the specular microscopy forms an image by detecting the reflected light at the corneal endothelium-aqueous humor interface and is widely used for endothelial cell density assessment. This type of device has a mature structure and is easy to operate, but its technical defects are: the imaging is limited to a single layer of corneal endothelium and cannot observe corneal epithelium, stroma or neural structures; the field of view of a single frame is small, usually not exceeding 0.25mm × 0.5mm, and the spatial sampling is limited; it is sensitive to corneal opacity and endothelial lesions (such as Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy), and is prone to image saturation or distortion.

[0003] (2) In vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM): Confocal microscopy achieves axial optical sectioning through point scanning and confocal aperture, which can obtain cell-level resolution and observe the cells and neural structures of each layer of the cornea. However, its shortcomings include: extremely small field of view per frame (usually about 0.4mm × 0.4mm), making it difficult to reflect the overall structure of the tissue; it requires contact or near contact with the ocular surface, which places high demands on patient comfort and operator experience; the system structure is complex and costly, making it difficult to promote in primary care or resource-limited areas.

[0004] (3) High-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT): In recent years, technologies such as full-field OCT and line-field OCT have emerged, which can achieve non-contact cell-level tomographic imaging. However, such systems usually rely on high-speed detectors, complex scanning structures or interferometric subsystems, and have the following problems: high system complexity and high cost; large size, which is not conducive to routine clinical deployment; the contrast mechanism for transparent tissues is still mainly based on reflection / backscattering, and the contrast for some low-scattering structures (such as nerves) is limited.

[0005] (4) Retro-illumination: Retro-illumination has been used in clinical slit lamps for a long time to observe lens opacity or corneal defects. However, this method only provides macroscopic low-resolution information and is difficult to achieve cell-level imaging. The main reason is that the illumination space coherence is insufficient and the interference contrast is weak.

[0006] In summary, existing technologies struggle to balance large field of view, cell-level resolution, high contrast in transparent tissues, and system simplification, leaving significant technological gaps. Summary of the Invention

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives and other advantages of the present invention, a first objective of the present invention is to provide an anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging device, comprising: An illumination unit for emitting an illumination beam and projecting the illumination beam onto the posterior tissue of the human eye; The posterior tissue is configured to scatter upon receiving the illumination beam, forming a secondary light source that transmits illumination to the anterior segment tissue. An imaging unit is used to collect and detect light signals transmitted through the anterior segment tissue; The light signal transmitted through the anterior segment tissue includes the transmitted zero-order light generated by the secondary light source and the diffracted light generated by the microstructure of the anterior segment tissue. The transmitted zero-order light interferes with the diffracted light, and the imaging unit is used to receive and form an image reflecting the distribution of interference intensity.

[0008] Furthermore, the illumination unit includes a light source, a collimating element, and a projection lens; the light beam emitted from the light source is collimated by the collimating element, focused by the projection lens, and incident on the human eye, and finally imaged on the posterior tissue.

[0009] Furthermore, the illumination unit also includes a light spot adjustment component, which is used to adjust the size of the light spot formed by the illumination beam on the posterior tissue, so as to change the effective numerical aperture and spatial coherence of the secondary light source.

[0010] Furthermore, it also includes a polarization control unit; The polarization control unit includes a polarizer and a polarization beam splitter; The polarizer is used to adjust the illumination beam into linearly polarized light; The polarization beam splitter is located in the illumination optical path and the imaging optical path. It is used to reflect linearly polarized light from the illumination unit to illuminate the human eye and to transmit signal light from the human eye whose polarization state has changed to enter the imaging unit.

[0011] Furthermore, the polarization control unit is configured such that the polarization state of the illumination beam is cross-polarized with the polarization state of the probe light entering the imaging unit, in order to suppress specular reflection light from the anterior surface of the anterior segment tissue.

[0012] Furthermore, the imaging unit includes a microscope objective, an imaging lens, and a two-dimensional array detector; The microscope objective is used to collect light signals from the human eye; The imaging lens and the microscope objective form a 4f relay system, which relays the image plane of the microscope objective to the target plane of the two-dimensional array detector. The two-dimensional array detector is used to record the interference intensity distribution to form a single-frame, large-field-of-view anterior segment image.

[0013] Furthermore, the posterior tissue is the sclera or retina; the anterior segment tissue includes at least one of the cornea, anterior chamber angle, or anterior part of the lens.

[0014] Furthermore, the illumination beam is near-infrared light.

[0015] A second objective of this invention is to provide an anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging method, based on the aforementioned apparatus, comprising the following steps: S1. Project the illumination beam onto the posterior tissue of the subject's eye, and use the scattering of the posterior tissue to form a secondary light source to provide transmitted illumination to the anterior segment tissue; S2. Collect the light signal transmitted through the anterior segment tissue, the light signal including the transmitted zero-order light from the secondary light source and the diffracted light generated by the microstructure of the anterior segment tissue; S3. The transmitted zero-order light is made to interfere with the diffracted light, and the intensity distribution formed by the interference is detected by the imaging unit, thereby obtaining a single-frame large field-of-view, cell-level resolution transmission interference image of the anterior segment tissue.

[0016] Furthermore, in step S1, the size of the illumination beam spot on the posterior tissue is controlled by adjusting the illumination optical path to adjust the depth of field and interference contrast of the image.

[0017] Furthermore, it also includes a polarization control step: using a cross-polarization configuration to suppress specular reflection light from the anterior surface of the cornea and allow the transmitted signal light, which has been depolarized by the posterior tissue, to enter the imaging unit.

[0018] Furthermore, the imaging unit adopts a non-scanning wide-field imaging method, and the field of view of a single frame image is greater than or equal to 1mm×1mm.

[0019] A third objective of this invention is to provide an anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging system, comprising: The aforementioned anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging device; In addition, a processing unit is communicatively connected to the imaging unit, used to receive image data acquired by the imaging unit and perform image enhancement or analysis processing.

[0020] Furthermore, the processing unit is configured to perform at least one of the following operations: background noise suppression, contrast enhancement, cell boundary recognition, neural morphology extraction, or quantitative parameter calculation.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: This invention achieves large field-of-view cellular imaging: the field of view of a single frame is not less than 2mm×1mm, which is larger than that of general clinical confocal microscopes and corneal endothelial microscopes, thus improving statistical reliability and lesion detection rate.

[0022] This invention offers superior contrast for transparent tissues: through a transmission interference mechanism, it can display corneal nerves, epithelial cells, and fine structures of the lens with high contrast, making it particularly suitable for low-scattering transparent tissues.

[0023] The system of this invention has a simple structure and high stability: it adopts a common optical structure, which eliminates the need for a reference arm or high-speed scanning unit, and the system is small in size, low in cost and has good stability.

[0024] This invention enables non-contact, markerless imaging: the examination process does not require contact with the ocular surface or the introduction of contrast agents, avoiding the discomfort and risks that may be caused by traditional contact or invasive examinations.

[0025] This invention offers possibilities for novel clinical and research applications: it can be used for corneal nerve assessment, endothelial disease screening, lens microstructure observation, and pre- / post-operative follow-up.

[0026] The above description is merely an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to better understand the technical means of the present invention and to implement it according to the contents of the specification, the preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Specific embodiments of the present invention are given in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0027] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and form part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and, together with their description, serve to explain the invention and do not constitute an undue limitation thereof. In the drawings: Figure 1 Diagrams of the illumination and detection optical paths; Figure 2 Diagram of the interference principle; Figure 3 This is a flowchart of the anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging method. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The present invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of them. It should be noted that, without conflict, the various embodiments or technical features described below can be arbitrarily combined to form new embodiments.

[0029] Based on the embodiments of this invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0030] The drawing numbers in this application are only used to distinguish the steps in the scheme and are not used to limit the execution order of the steps. The specific execution order is as described in the specification.

[0031] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. The terminology used herein in the description of the invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention.

[0032] This invention relates to a transmission imaging system and method for the anterior segment of the human eye (including the cornea, anterior chamber angle, and anterior lens), and more particularly to an anterior segment transmission interferometry imaging device and its imaging method based on secondary light source formed by scattering from posterior eye tissues. This technology enables non-contact, label-free, high-resolution imaging of transparent or weakly scattering anterior segment tissues, and is suitable for applications such as ophthalmic clinical examination, disease screening, preoperative evaluation, and postoperative follow-up. The specific solution is as follows: Example 1 An anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging device, such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, it includes: An illumination unit is used to emit an illumination beam and project the illumination beam onto the posterior tissue of the human eye; preferably, the posterior tissue is the sclera or the retina; the anterior segment tissue includes at least one of the cornea, the anterior chamber angle, or the anterior part of the lens.

[0033] The posterior tissue is configured to scatter after receiving the illumination beam, forming a secondary light source 7 that transmits illumination to the anterior segment tissue; Specifically, the incident light passes sequentially through the cornea and lens, and is focused onto the retina and the sclera behind it. The sclera, as a strong scattering medium, scatters and partially reflects the incident light, becoming a secondary light source for illuminating the anterior segment tissue.

[0034] An imaging unit is used to collect and detect light signals transmitted through the anterior segment tissue; The light signal transmitted through the anterior segment tissue includes the transmitted zero-order light generated by the secondary light source and the diffracted light generated by the microstructure of the anterior segment tissue. The transmitted zero-order light interferes with the diffracted light, and the imaging unit is used to receive and form an image reflecting the distribution of interference intensity.

[0035] like Figure 1As shown, the illumination unit includes a light source 1, a collimating element 2, and a projection lens 4. The light beam emitted from the light source is collimated by the collimating element, focused by the projection lens, and incident on the human eye, ultimately forming an image on the posterior tissue. Preferably, the illumination beam is near-infrared light, i.e., a near-infrared light source is used, preferably with a wavelength of 850nm; the collimating element is specifically a collimating lens.

[0036] The illumination unit further includes a light spot adjustment component, which is used to adjust the size of the light spot formed by the illumination beam on the posterior tissue in order to change the effective numerical aperture and spatial coherence of the secondary light source.

[0037] The illumination light, after passing through the lens group, is imaged onto the back focal plane of microscope objective 6. The microscope objective outputs a collimated beam, which is then directed into the human eye. The size of the light spot projected onto the fundus can be altered by changing the focal length of the lens group or by adding an aperture stop, thereby changing the secondary light source NA and the interference contrast.

[0038] like Figure 1 As shown, it also includes a polarization control unit; The polarization control unit includes a polarizer 3 and a polarization beam splitter 5; specifically, the polarizer 3 is a linear polarizer and the polarization beam splitter 5 is a polarization beam splitter.

[0039] The polarizer is used to adjust the illumination beam into linearly polarized light; The polarization beam splitter is located in the illumination optical path and the imaging optical path. It is used to reflect linearly polarized light from the illumination unit to illuminate the human eye and to transmit signal light from the human eye whose polarization state has changed to enter the imaging unit.

[0040] The polarization control unit is configured such that the polarization state of the illumination beam is cross-polarized with the polarization state of the probe light entering the imaging unit, in order to suppress specular reflection light from the anterior surface of the anterior segment tissue.

[0041] The collimated light from the light source passes through a linear polarizer, and the resulting linearly polarized light is totally internally reflected by a polarization beamsplitter to illuminate the sample. Part of the illumination light is reflected by the cornea, and part passes through it. The light reflected by the specular surface of the cornea retains its incident polarization and is filtered out when it passes through the polarization beamsplitter again. The light that passes through the cornea is scattered multiple times by the sclera, resulting in a randomized polarization state. Therefore, the secondary illumination returned contains a polarization component that can pass through the PBS, thus obtaining effectively transmitted imaging light.

[0042] like Figure 1 As shown, the imaging unit includes a microscope objective 6, a beam splitter mirror 8, an imaging lens 9, and a two-dimensional array detector 10 (such as a CMOS camera). The microscope objective is used to collect light signals from the human eye; The imaging lens and the microscope objective form a 4f relay system, which relays the image plane of the microscope objective to the target plane of the two-dimensional array detector. The two-dimensional array detector is used to record the interference intensity distribution to form a single-frame, large-field-of-view anterior segment image.

[0043] Specifically, transmitted and diffracted light from the same sample point are projected onto the detector target surface through this 4f system, where they interfere to form a bright spot corresponding to that sample point. The entire camera target surface can record all sample points effectively illuminated on the conjugate surface, thus forming a complete single-layer image of the anterior segment.

[0044] This invention provides an anterior segment transmissive imaging device that projects a controlled illumination beam into the posterior part of the eye (retina / sclera region). Utilizing the multiple scattering characteristics of the sclera, the posterior eye tissue is transformed into a secondary illumination source with an expanded but limited numerical aperture, thereby providing transmissive illumination to the transparent tissue located in the anterior segment. The anterior segment tissue diffracts and modulates the phase of this transmitted light. The diffracted light interferes with the undiffracted light (transmitted light) in the imaging system, forming an interference contrast image with positive and negative contrast on the detector surface. This scheme is essentially a common-path transmissive interferometry imaging method, avoiding the dependence on a reference arm in traditional reflective interferometry systems.

[0045] This invention differs from reflective interferometry / OCT in that the interference occurs at a different location. Reflective interferometry typically involves splitting the reference arm and sample arm, ultimately resulting in beam convergence interference at the camera surface. This invention, however, employs transmission geometry, where the transmitted zero-order light and scattered light form local interference near the sample, which is then relayed to the camera surface by the objective lens tube. This results in a more compact, coaxial structure, reduced sensitivity to vibration, and the ability to directly obtain transmission interference contrast.

[0046] This invention differs from traditional slit-lamp reverse illumination / wide field-of-view reverse illumination. Traditional reverse illumination is mostly large-area, asymmetrical, or wide-angle illumination, with low spatial coherence and weak contrast; this invention focuses the illumination on a small spot in a local area of ​​the fundus, reducing the equivalent NA of the secondary light source and increasing spatial coherence, thereby significantly enhancing interference contrast.

[0047] This invention differs from point-scanning confocal microscopy. This invention can achieve cell-level imaging without the need for confocal aperture and point-scanning structure, and the field of view per frame is significantly expanded to 2mm×1mm, far exceeding that of clinical confocal microscopy (approximately 0.4mm).

[0048] This invention differs from corneal endothelial microscopy in that its imaging range is not limited to the corneal endothelium, but can also image the corneal epithelium, nerves, folds, and anterior lens structures.

[0049] Example 2 A method for anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging, based on the aforementioned apparatus, is described in detail in the corresponding descriptions of the apparatus embodiments described above, and will not be repeated here. Figure 2 , Figure 3 As shown, the method includes the following steps: S1. Project the illumination beam onto the posterior tissue of the subject's eye, and use the scattering of the posterior tissue to form a secondary light source to provide transmitted illumination to the anterior segment tissue; S2. Collect the light signal transmitted through the anterior segment tissue, the light signal including the transmitted zero-order light from the secondary light source and the diffracted light generated by the microstructure of the anterior segment tissue; S3. The transmitted zero-order light is made to interfere with the diffracted light, and the intensity distribution formed by the interference is detected by the imaging unit, thereby obtaining a single-frame transmission interference image of the anterior segment tissue with a large field of view and cell-level resolution. Preferably, the imaging unit adopts a non-scanning wide-field imaging mode, and the field of view of a single frame image is greater than or equal to 1mm × 1mm.

[0050] Preferably, in step S1, the size of the illumination beam on the posterior tissue is controlled by adjusting the illumination optical path to adjust the depth of field and interference contrast of the image.

[0051] In this embodiment, scleral scattering forms a secondary illumination source. After the illumination light enters the eye through the objective lens, the cornea and lens focus the beam onto the retina / sclera region. The sclera, located behind the retina, strongly scatters the incident light, and a portion of the scattered light returns forward, becoming a secondary light source that illuminates from behind the eye to in front of the eye. This returned light then passes through the anterior segment structures such as the cornea / lens and is collected by the objective lens and imaged onto the camera.

[0052] Illumination NA, denoted as NAI, is derived from the axial length of the eye and the radius of the illumination beam. The detection range (NA) is determined by the microscope objective and denoted as NAd. The effective NA is the algebraic average of these objectives. Lateral resolution and depth of field are defined by the effective NA: , Preferably, it further includes a polarization control step: using a cross-polarization configuration to suppress specular reflection light from the anterior surface of the cornea and allow the depolarized transmitted signal light, after being scattered by the posterior tissue, to enter the imaging unit.

[0053] This embodiment suppresses corneal specular reflection and increases the proportion of transmitted signal through cross-polarization. The anterior surface of the cornea has strong specular reflection and high polarization retention; the device sets the illumination and detection to cross-polarization and uses PBS for polarization selection, thereby significantly filtering out specular reflection, while scleral multiple scattering leads to depolarization, allowing the polarized component of the returned light that can pass through the PBS to enter the detector.

[0054] In this embodiment, the transmitted zero-order light and the sample diffracted light interfere locally near the image plane. For example... Figure 2 As shown, secondary illumination generates transmitted zero-order light 11 (the component not scattered / diffracted by the sample) and diffracted / scattered light 12 (generated by the microstructure) at the sample (e.g., corneal cells, nerve fibers, lens microstructures). The two interfere locally near the sample / image plane, and the interference intensity distribution is then relayed to the camera plane by the 4f system.

[0055] This embodiment reduces the illumination NA by shrinking the fundus light spot, thereby improving spatial coherence and interference contrast. By reducing the size of the light spot projected onto the sclera (approximately 0.3 mm), the device maintains high spatial coherence of the secondary light source, thus enhancing interference contrast. Simultaneously, a smaller light spot means a smaller illumination NA for the secondary light source, resulting in a larger depth of field (DOF), but at the cost of some lateral resolution. This loss can be partially compensated for by increasing the detection NA of the microscope objective.

[0056] This invention provides a transmissive imaging method for the anterior segment of the eye. By projecting a controlled illumination beam onto the posterior part of the eye (retina / sclera region), and utilizing the multiple scattering characteristics of the sclera, the posterior eye tissue is transformed into a secondary illumination source with an expanded but limited numerical aperture, thereby providing transmissive illumination to the transparent tissue located in the anterior segment. The anterior segment tissue diffracts and modulates the phase of the transmitted light. The diffracted and non-diffracted light interferes in the imaging system, forming an interference contrast image with positive and negative contrast on the detector surface. This scheme is essentially a common-path transmissive interferometry imaging method, avoiding the dependence on a reference arm in traditional reflective interferometry systems.

[0057] Example 3 An anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging system, such as Figures 1-3 As shown, it includes: The above-described anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging device; for a detailed description of the device, please refer to the corresponding description in the above device embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0058] The processing unit is communicatively connected to the imaging unit and is used to receive image data acquired by the imaging unit and perform image enhancement or analysis processing. Preferably, the processing unit is configured to perform at least one of the following operations: background noise suppression, contrast enhancement, cell boundary recognition, neural morphology extraction, or quantitative parameter calculation.

[0059] The specific imaging operation process includes: (1) In a dark environment, the subject is fixed and pupils are dilated; (2) The near-infrared illumination source is activated so that the beam is focused into the sclera through the eye. The sclera scatters to form a secondary light source, which illuminates the cornea and lens. The transmitted light and the diffracted light form an interference contrast; (3) Single or multiple frames of images are acquired through the imaging system, and simple background suppression, enhancement or analysis processing is performed as needed.

[0060] The number of devices and processing scale described herein are for the purpose of simplifying the description of the invention. Applications, modifications, and variations of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0061] Although embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed above, they are not limited to the applications listed in the specification and embodiments. They can be applied to various fields suitable for the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other modifications can be easily made. Therefore, without departing from the general concept defined by the claims and their equivalents, the present invention is not limited to the specific details and illustrations shown and described herein.

[0062] It should also be noted that the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0063] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to mutually. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments. In particular, the system embodiments are basically similar to the method embodiments, so the description is relatively simple; relevant parts can be referred to the descriptions in the method embodiments.

[0064] The above description is merely an embodiment of this specification and is not intended to limit the scope of one or more embodiments of this specification. Various modifications and variations can be made to one or more embodiments of this specification by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principle of one or more embodiments of this specification should be included within the scope of the claims of one or more embodiments of this specification.

Claims

1. A transmission interferometry microscopy imaging device for the anterior segment of the eye, characterized in that, include: An illumination unit for emitting an illumination beam and projecting the illumination beam onto the posterior tissue of the human eye; The posterior tissue is configured to scatter upon receiving the illumination beam, forming a secondary light source that transmits illumination to the anterior segment tissue. An imaging unit is used to collect and detect light signals transmitted through the anterior segment tissue; The light signal transmitted through the anterior segment tissue includes the transmitted zero-order light generated by the secondary light source and the diffracted light generated by the microstructure of the anterior segment tissue. The transmitted zero-order light interferes with the diffracted light, and the imaging unit is used to receive and form an image reflecting the distribution of interference intensity.

2. The anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The illumination unit includes a light source, a collimating element, and a projection lens; the light beam emitted from the light source is collimated by the collimating element, focused by the projection lens, and incident on the human eye, and finally imaged on the posterior tissue.

3. The anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging device as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The illumination unit further includes a light spot adjustment component, which is used to adjust the size of the light spot formed by the illumination beam on the posterior tissue in order to change the effective numerical aperture and spatial coherence of the secondary light source.

4. The anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a polarization control unit; The polarization control unit includes a polarizer and a polarization beam splitter; The polarizer is used to adjust the illumination beam into linearly polarized light; The polarization beam splitter is located in the illumination optical path and the imaging optical path. It is used to reflect linearly polarized light from the illumination unit to illuminate the human eye and to transmit signal light from the human eye whose polarization state has changed to enter the imaging unit.

5. The anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging device as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The polarization control unit is configured such that the polarization state of the illumination beam is cross-polarized with the polarization state of the probe light entering the imaging unit, in order to suppress specular reflection light from the anterior surface of the anterior segment tissue.

6. The anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The imaging unit includes a microscope objective, an imaging lens, and a two-dimensional array detector; The microscope objective is used to collect light signals from the human eye; The imaging lens and the microscope objective form a 4f relay system, which relays the image plane of the microscope objective to the target plane of the two-dimensional array detector. The two-dimensional array detector is used to record the interference intensity distribution to form a single-frame, large-field-of-view anterior segment image.

7. The anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The posterior tissue is the sclera or retina; the anterior segment tissue includes at least one of the cornea, anterior chamber angle, or anterior part of the lens.

8. The anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The illumination beam is near-infrared light.

9. A method for anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging, based on the apparatus as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1. Project the illumination beam onto the posterior tissue of the subject's eye, and use the scattering of the posterior tissue to form a secondary light source to provide transmitted illumination to the anterior segment tissue; S2. Collect the light signal transmitted through the anterior segment tissue, the light signal including the transmitted zero-order light from the secondary light source and the diffracted light generated by the microstructure of the anterior segment tissue; S3. The transmitted zero-order light is made to interfere with the diffracted light, and the intensity distribution formed by the interference is detected by the imaging unit, thereby obtaining a single-frame large field-of-view, cell-level resolution transmission interference image of the anterior segment tissue.

10. The anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging method as described in claim 9, characterized in that, In step S1, the size of the illumination beam spot on the posterior tissue is controlled by adjusting the illumination optical path to adjust the depth of field and interference contrast of the image.

11. The anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging method as described in claim 9, characterized in that, It also includes a polarization control step: using a cross-polarization configuration to suppress specular reflections from the anterior surface of the cornea and allow depolarized transmitted signal light, scattered by the posterior tissue, to enter the imaging unit.

12. The anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging method as described in claim 9, characterized in that, The imaging unit adopts a non-scanning wide-field imaging method, and the field of view of a single frame image is greater than or equal to 1mm×1mm.

13. A transmissive interferometry microscopy imaging system for the anterior segment of the eye, characterized in that, include: The anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging apparatus as described in any one of claims 1 to 8; In addition, a processing unit is communicatively connected to the imaging unit, used to receive image data acquired by the imaging unit and perform image enhancement or analysis processing.

14. The anterior segment transmission interferometry microscopy imaging system as described in claim 13, characterized in that, The processing unit is configured to perform at least one of the following operations: background noise suppression, contrast enhancement, cell boundary recognition, neuromorphic extraction, or quantitative parameter calculation.

Images