Imaging markers for verifying biometric measurements

Abstract

The systems and methods described herein provide an improved technique for displaying image markers to verify biometric measurements. The method includes receiving an instruction to initiate a first optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan of an eye, initiating the first OCT scan of the eye based on the received instruction, generating a first OCT image of the eye based on the first OCT scan, detecting a retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of the eye and a fovea of ​​the eye based on the first OCT image, and displaying a first enhanced OCT image to a user based on the detection, the first enhanced OCT image displaying a first virtual marker that segments at least a portion of the detected RPE and a second virtual marker that visually identifies a location of the detected fovea and is a radial line passing through the location of the detected fovea.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to methods and apparatus for ophthalmic imaging, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for displaying imaging markers on ophthalmic images to verify biometric measurements provided by a biometric system. [Background technology]

[0002] Prior to performing ophthalmic surgery, such as cataract surgery, the anatomical features and dimensions of a patient's eye may be measured. Specific interrelationships between ocular structures and measured dimensions affect the determination and selection of the correct lens power for a patient undergoing ophthalmic surgery. One such measurement and interrelationship between ocular components is the axial length of the eye.

[0003] The axial length of an eye is typically measured during optical biometry of a patient. The axial length is the distance between the anterior surface of the cornea and the RPE at the fovea. However, various macular abnormalities and / or diseases, such as macular hole, age-related macular degeneration, vitreomacular traction syndrome, vitreomacular schisis, and epiretinal membrane, can cause anatomical changes in the eye. Such anatomical changes can affect the measurement of axial length by existing systems. For example, when measuring the axial length of an eye with a macular hole, certain existing biometry systems may measure the length from the raised tissue around the macular hole instead of the RPE at the fovea.

[0004] Furthermore, existing biometric systems may not be able to accurately detect macular abnormalities in a patient's eye and, as a result, may not be able to alert a clinician and / or surgeon to the macular abnormality. Failure to alert to the macular abnormality may lead a user to implant a lens with an incorrect lens power into the patient, which may result in the patient undergoing additional surgery to correct the implantation of the incorrect lens. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] SUMMARY The present disclosure generally relates to methods and apparatus for displaying image markers on ophthalmic images for verifying biometric measurements.

[0006] In certain embodiments, a method generally includes receiving an instruction to initiate a first optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan of an eye. The method further includes initiating the first OCT scan of the eye based on the received instruction. The method also includes generating a first OCT image of the eye based on the first OCT scan. The method further includes detecting a retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of the eye and a fovea of ​​the eye based on the first OCT image. The method also includes, based on the detection, displaying a first enhanced OCT image to a user, the first enhanced OCT image displaying a first virtual marker that segments at least a portion of the detected RPE, the first virtual marker being a curve, and a second virtual marker that visually identifies the location of the detected fovea and is a radial line.

[0007] Aspects of the present disclosure provide means for apparatuses, processors, and computer-readable media for performing the methods described herein.

[0008] So that the above-listed features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the present disclosure briefly summarized above can be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be noted, however, that the accompanying drawings illustrate only exemplary embodiments and should not be considered as limiting the scope thereof, as other equally effective embodiments may be recognized. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of selected components of an exemplary imaging system, according to an exemplary implementation of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of selected components of an OCT controller according to an exemplary implementation of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A] FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary OCT image of an eye, according to an exemplary implementation of the present disclosure. [Figure 3B] FIG. 3B illustrates an exemplary enhanced OCT image of an eye, according to an exemplary implementation of the present disclosure. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4A illustrates an OCT image of the retina of an exemplary eye, according to an exemplary implementation of the present disclosure. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B illustrates an enhanced OCT image of the retina of an exemplary eye, according to an exemplary implementation of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for displaying imaging markers on an ophthalmic image, according to an exemplary implementation of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] For ease of understanding, where possible, the same reference numerals are used to indicate identical elements that are common to multiple figures. It is contemplated that elements and features of one embodiment may be beneficially incorporated in other embodiments without further recitation.

[0011] SUMMARY The present disclosure generally relates to methods and apparatus for displaying image markers on ophthalmic images for verifying biometric measurements.

[0012] Axial length measurements are important in selecting the correct intraocular lens with the correct lens power for a patient. Macular abnormalities and / or diseases can affect axial length measurements performed by existing systems. For example, a macular hole may cause an existing system to select an incorrect location away from the fovea as the location of the fovea. Similarly, macular abnormalities can affect the ability of existing systems to measure from the correct depth in the eye. For example, if a macular abnormality such as a macular bulge is present in the eye, existing systems may measure axial length from the macular surface of the bulged macula, resulting in a shorter axial length measurement. Existing systems do not provide a visual indication to a user (e.g., a clinician, surgeon, etc.) of how a patient's axial length is being measured. The failure to provide a visual indication of how a patient's axial length is being measured prevents a user from providing an efficient and easy way to verify the system's axial length measurements.

[0013] Accordingly, some implementations of the present disclosure provide various systems and techniques that improve a user's ability to efficiently verify whether axial length measurements are accurate and correctly performed by an imaging system. In some implementations, the techniques for improving a user's ability to efficiently verify the accuracy of axial length measurements are based on visual indicators provided on images displayed to the user.

[0014] 1 illustrates a block diagram of selected components of an exemplary imaging system 100. The imaging system 100 includes an optical coherence tomography (OCT) scanner 102, an OCT controller 104, and a display 106.

[0015] The OCT scanner 102 may include multiple OCT components and / or devices (not separately shown). The OCT components and / or devices may be of various types, and the OCT scanner 102 may be configured differently based on the type of OCT components and / or devices. In some implementations, the OCT scanner 102 may be configured as a time-domain OCT (TD-OCT). In some implementations, the OCT scanner 102 may be configured as a frequency-domain OCT (FD-OCT). In some implementations, the OCT scanner 102 may be configured as a swept-source OCT (SS-OCT).

[0016] The OCT scanner 102 performs an OCT scan of a patient's eye 110. The OCT scanner 102 can perform the OCT scan by controlling the output of one or more sample beams (not shown) onto the eye 110 and receiving one or more measurement beams (not shown) reflected back from the eye 110. The one or more measurement beams can be reflected back from the eye 110 in response to photons of the sample beams interacting with tissue within the eye 110. The OCT scanner 102 can be configured to move the sample beams to specific locations on the eye in response to receiving commands and / or position information from the OCT controller 104.

[0017] The OCT scanner 102 may be configured to scan the eye 110 at various depths within the eye 110. For example, the OCT scanner 102 may be configured to scan the entire depth of the eye 110 for a complete eye scan of the eye 110. Similarly, the OCT scanner 102 may be configured to scan any portion of the eye 110, such as the retina of the eye 110. In some implementations, the OCT scanner 102 may scan different depths of the eye 110 with different resolutions. For example, the OCT scanner 102 may scan the entire depth of the eye 110 with a lower resolution and scan a portion of the eye 110, such as the retina of the eye 110, with a higher resolution.

[0018] The OCT scanner 102 may be configured to generate scan data based on one or more measurement beams reflected back from the eye. The scan data may represent a depth profile of the scanned tissue. In some implementations, the scan data generated by the OCT scanner 102 may include two-dimensional (2D) scan data of a line scan (B-scan). In some implementations, the scan data generated by the OCT scanner 102 may include three-dimensional (3D) scan data of an area scan (C-scan, emmetropia). The OCT scanner 102 may be configured to transmit the generated scan data to the OCT controller 104. In some implementations, the OCT scanner 102 may be configured to transmit the generated scan data in real time or near real time. In some implementations, the OCT scanner 102 may be configured to transmit the generated scan data after the entire scanning operation is completed by the OCT scanner 102.

[0019] The OCT scanner 102 may be configured to initiate a scan of the eye 110 in response to receiving a command and / or instruction from the OCT controller 104. The OCT controller 104 may be configured to send a start scan command to the OCT scanner 102 in response to receiving an instruction from a user, such as a surgeon, clinician, or medical professional, to initiate a scan of the eye. In some implementations, the instruction from the user may provide information related to the depth and / or location of the eye for the scan, and the OCT controller 104 may be configured to provide the received depth and / or location-related information to the OCT scanner 102. For example, the instruction received by the OCT controller 104 may indicate an OCT scan of the complete eye, and the OCT controller 104 may send an instruction to the OCT scanner 102 indicating the OCT scan of the complete eye. Similarly, the instruction received by the OCT controller 104 may indicate an OCT scan of the retina of the eye, and the OCT controller 104 may send an instruction to the OCT scanner 102 indicating the OCT scan of the retina of the eye.

[0020] The OCT controller 104 may be configured to receive instructions to initiate an eye scan via a user interface (e.g., a graphical user interface (GUI)) and / or an input device (not shown). The input device may be communicatively coupled to and / or incorporated into the imaging system 100. Examples of input devices include, but are not limited to, a keypad, a keyboard, a touchscreen device configured to receive touch input, etc.

[0021] The OCT controller 104 may be communicatively coupled to the OCT scanner 102 via one or more electrical and / or communication interfaces. In some implementations, the one or more electrical and / or communication interfaces may be configured to transmit data (e.g., scan data generated by the OCT scanner 102) from the OCT scanner 102 at a high transmission rate such that the OCT controller 104 may receive data from the OCT scanner 102 in real time or near real time.

[0022] The OCT controller 104 may be configured to generate one or more OCT images based on the generated scan data received from the OCT scanner 102. For example, the OCT controller 104 may be configured to generate a 2D image or a B-scan image based on the generated 2D scan data of a line scan. Similarly, the OCT controller 104 may be configured to generate a 3D image or a C-scan based on the generated 3D scan data of an area scan. The OCT controller 104 may be configured to perform image generation and / or image processing in real time and / or near real time.

[0023] The OCT controller 104 may be configured with one or more tissue detection and / or auto-segmentation algorithms to detect and / or auto-segment one or more tissue layers of the eye in the generated OCT images. Examples of tissue layers of the eye that the OCT controller 104 may be configured to detect and / or auto-segment include, but are not limited to, the fovea, the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), the anterior surface of the cornea, the retina, the cornea, the iris, the pupil, the anterior and posterior surfaces of the lens, as well as the location of the lens. The OCT controller 104 may be configured to apply one or more tissue detection and / or auto-segmentation algorithms to the scan data received from the OCT scanner 102 and / or the generated OCT images to detect and / or auto-segment one or more tissue layers of the scanned eye.

[0024] Based on the scan data received from the OCT scanner 102 and / or the generated OCT images, the OCT controller 104 may be configured to generate enhanced OCT images by generating and / or displaying one or more virtual markers on the one or more OCT images to visually identify one or more detected and / or automatically segmented tissue layers of the eye.

[0025] The OCT controller 104 may be configured to generate and / or display one or more virtual markers on the OCT image (e.g., the generated OCT image) to visually identify one or more detected and / or automatically segmented tissue layers of the eye. For example, the OCT controller 104 may be configured to detect and / or automatically segment the fovea of ​​the eye on the OCT image and generate and / or display virtual markers on the OCT image to visually identify the location of the fovea and / or segment at least a portion of the fovea. Similarly, the OCT controller 104 may be configured to detect and / or automatically segment the RPE of the eye on the OCT image and generate and / or display virtual markers on the OCT image to visually identify the location of the RPE and / or segment at least a portion of the RPE.

[0026] The OCT controller 104 may be configured to generate and / or display virtual markers in various shapes and / or sizes. For example, the OCT controller 104 may be configured to generate and / or display curved virtual markers, such as curved lines. Similarly, the OCT controller 104 may be configured to generate and / or display virtual markers that are straight and / or radial lines that converge to and / or through an eye location (e.g., a detected foveal location within the eye). The OCT controller 104 may be configured to generate an enhanced OCT image by generating and / or displaying virtual markers on an OCT image (e.g., an OCT image generated by the OCT controller 104).

[0027] In some implementations, based on the OCT images and / or scan data, the OCT controller 104 may be configured to detect an abnormal macular anatomical configuration (e.g., an abnormal macular condition) in the eye 110. In response to detecting an abnormal macular anatomical configuration, the OCT controller 104 may be configured to send an alert to a user advising against the use of a contrast-reducing multifocal intraocular optical lens (IOL) or an extended depth of focus (EDOF) IOL. In some implementations, the OCT controller 104 may be configured to send the alert periodically until the OCT controller 104 receives confirmation from the user that the alert is acknowledged.

[0028] The OCT controller 104 may be configured to display the OCT image and / or the enhanced OCT image to a user by providing the image to a display 106 for display to a user. The OCT controller 104 may be communicatively coupled and / or electrically connected to the display 106. The display 106 may be configured to conform to one or more display standards and may be any of a variety of types of display, such as Video Graphics Array (VGA), Extended Graphics Array (XGA), Digital Visual Interface (DVI), High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), etc.

[0029] Figure 2 shows a block diagram of selected components of an implementation of an OCT controller, such as the OCT controller 104 described above with reference to Figure 1. As shown in Figure 2, the OCT controller 104 includes a processor 201, a bus 202, a display interface 204, a memory 210, and a communication interface 220.

[0030] The processor 201 may be communicatively coupled to the memory 210, the display interface 204, and the communication interface 220 via the bus 202. The OCT controller 104 may be configured to interface with various external components (e.g., the OCT scanner 102, the display 106) of an imaging system (e.g., the imaging system 100) via the processor 201 and the communication interface 220. In some implementations, the communication interface 220 may be configured to allow the OCT controller 104 to connect to a network (not shown). In some implementations, the OCT controller 104 may be connected to one or more displays, such as the display 106, via the display interface 204.

[0031] The memory 210 may include persistent, volatile, fixed, removable, magnetic, and / or semiconductor media. The memory 210 may be configured to store one or more machine-readable commands, instructions, data, and / or the like. In some implementations, as shown in FIG. 2 , the memory 210 may include one or more sets and / or sequences of instructions, such as an operating system 212, a scan control application 214, etc. Examples of the operating system 212 may include, but are not limited to, a UNIX or UNIX-like operating system, a Windows family operating system, or another suitable operating system. The scan control application 214 may be configured to perform the OCT controller operations described herein, including, but not limited to, operations related to initiating an eye scan, generating OCT images, processing the OCT images, generating and / or displaying virtual markers on the OCT images, generating enhanced OCT images, etc.

[0032] FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary OCT image 300a of an eye (e.g., eye 110). As illustrated in FIG. 3A, OCT image 300a is an OCT scan of the whole eye. As described above, OCT controller 104 may be configured to generate OCT image 300a based on scan data received from OCT scanner 102. As described above, OCT controller 104 may be configured to detect and / or auto-segment one or more tissue layers of the eye based on the generated OCT image and / or the received scan data. Additionally, OCT controller 104 may be configured to generate and / or display virtual markers in the enhanced OCT image that visually indicate one or more of the detected and / or auto-segmented tissue layers.

[0033] FIG. 3B illustrates an exemplary enhanced OCT image 300b of an eye (e.g., eye 110) generated based on OCT image 300a. As shown in the example of FIG. 3B, OCT controller 104 detects the anterior and posterior surfaces of the cornea of ​​the eye and generates and / or displays virtual markers 301 and 302 that visually identify the anterior and posterior surfaces of the cornea of ​​the eye, respectively. In the example of FIG. 3B, OCT controller 104 detects the pupil of the eye and generates and / or displays virtual marker 303 that visually identifies the location and / or at least a portion of the pupil in enhanced OCT image 300b. Similarly, OCT controller 104 detects the lens of the eye and / or the posterior portion of the lens and generates and / or displays virtual marker 304 that visually identifies the anterior and / or posterior portion of the lens of the eye in enhanced OCT image 300b. The OCT controller 104 can detect and / or auto-segment the fovea and RPE of the eye and generate and / or display virtual markers 305 and 306 that visually identify the locations of the RPE and fovea, respectively, in the enhanced OCT image 300b. As shown in FIG. 3B, the virtual marker 306 intersects a central portion of the detected and / or auto-segmented portion of the fovea.

[0034] As described above, the OCT controller 104 may be configured to generate and / or display virtual markers, which may be of various shapes and sizes. For example, as shown in FIG. 3B , the shapes of virtual markers 301 and 302 are curved, while the shape of virtual marker 306 is straight. In some implementations, virtual marker 306 may be radial lines that converge to the detected location of the fovea. In some implementations, the shape and / or size of the virtual markers may reflect and / or match the shape and / or size of the OCT image in which the tissue layers are displayed. For example, the curvature of virtual marker 301 matches the curvature of the anterior surface of the cornea of ​​the eye, and the curvature of virtual marker 302 matches the curvature of the posterior surface of the cornea of ​​the eye. Similarly, virtual marker 305 may be a curve that matches the curvature of the posterior surface of the eye 110.

[0035] The OCT controller 104 may be configured to generate and / or display one or more virtual markers that visually identify portions of the eye on which biometric measurements are performed by the OCT controller 104. For example, as described above, the axial length is the distance between the fovea of ​​the eye and the anterior surface of the eye. Thus, in some implementations, the OCT controller 104 may be configured to generate and / or display the virtual markers 306 in such a way that the virtual markers 306 may extend from at least the anterior surface of the cornea of ​​the eye through the fovea of ​​the eye. In some implementations, the OCT controller 104 may be configured to generate and / or display the virtual markers 306 in such a way that the virtual markers 306 may extend from the anterior portion of the retina through the fovea of ​​the eye.

[0036] As described above, abnormal macular conditions and / or macular diseases can cause anatomical changes in the macula, and certain existing OCT imaging systems may be unable to detect the abnormal macular conditions and / or diseases, resulting in erroneous axial length measurements without providing any mechanism for the user to verify that the measurements are correct and / or without providing any alerts to the user of the macular condition and / or disease. However, the OCT controller 104 may visually indicate to the user (e.g., via the OCT controller 104) the tissue layers detected by the imaging system 100 by generating and / or displaying virtual markers, allowing the user to determine whether the biometric measurements were taken from the correct location and sufficient depth in the eye.

[0037] 3B , OCT controller 104 generates and / or displays virtual marker 305 along the detected and / or automatically segmented RPE of the eye, and generates and / or displays virtual marker 306 that intersects with virtual marker 305 to visually indicate to the user that the axial length measurement was taken from the correct part of the eye, e.g., the fovea of ​​the eye, and not from the wrong part of the eye, e.g., the macular hole of the eye. Thus, as described herein, the virtual markers generated and / or displayed by OCT controller 104 on the enhanced OCT images allow the user to efficiently confirm that imaging system 100 correctly measured the axial length measurement.

[0038] As mentioned above, in some implementations, the OCT controller 104 may be configured to initiate scans at various depths and / or different resolutions of the eye to provide the user with additional OCT-enhanced images that may also allow the user to verify whether the biometric measurements (e.g., axial length) are accurate. For example, upon completion of the OCT scan of image 300a of FIG. 3A, the OCT controller 104 may initiate a scan of the retina of the eye.

[0039] FIG. 4A shows an exemplary retinal OCT image 400a of an eye (e.g., eye 110). The OCT controller 104 can generate the OCT image 400a based on retinal scan data received from the OCT scanner 102. The OCT controller 104 can be configured to detect and / or auto-segment retinal tissue layers, such as the fovea and RPE, based on the retinal scan data and / or the retinal OCT image 400a. The OCT controller 104 can be configured to generate and / or display virtual markers on an enhanced OCT image, such as the exemplary enhanced OCT image 400b of FIG. 4B, to visually identify the detected and / or auto-segmented tissue layers of the retina.

[0040] Enhanced OCT image 400b in FIG. 4B is an exemplary enhanced OCT image generated based on OCT image 400a. In the example of enhanced OCT image 400b, OCT controller 104 generates and / or displays virtual markers 401 and 402 to visually identify the detected and / or automatically segmented RPE and foveal pit of the eye, respectively. Virtual marker 401 may be a curve. The curvature of the curve of virtual marker 401 may match the curvature of the posterior portion of eye 110. Virtual marker 402 may be radial lines converging on the location of the detected fovea. OCT controller 104 may be configured to generate and / or display one or more virtual markers on an enhanced OCT image of a shallower depth that correspond to one or more virtual markers generated and / or displayed on a previous enhanced OCT image of a deeper depth for the same patient. For example, as shown in Figure 4B, in image 400b, virtual marker 402 visually identifying at least a portion of the foveal pit corresponds to virtual marker 306 in Figure 3B, which visually identifies and / or segments the location of at least a portion of the foveal pit in enhanced OCT image 300b. Similarly, virtual marker 401 visually identifying and / or segmenting at least a portion of the RPE corresponds to virtual marker 305 in Figure 3B, which visually identifies and / or segments the location of at least a portion of the RPE in enhanced OCT image 300b.

[0041] Thus, by generating and / or displaying corresponding virtual markers on the enhanced OCT images at different depths, the OCT controller 104 allows a user to more closely verify the accuracy of the biometric measurements and / or the accuracy of the measurement location within the patient's eye. For example, the OCT controller 104 can generate and / or display radial virtual markers (e.g., virtual marker 306 and virtual marker 402) through the fovea and curvilinear virtual markers (e.g., virtual marker 306 and virtual marker 402) on the OCT scan (e.g., enhanced OCT images 300b and 400b). The OCT controller 104 can generate and / or display a radial virtual marker through the fovea at a location that perpendicularly intersects the curvilinear virtual marker on the RPE and / or can segment a portion of the RPE.

[0042] 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for displaying imaging markers on an ophthalmic image according to an exemplary implementation of the present disclosure. Operations 500 may be performed, for example, by an OCT controller (e.g., OCT controller 104 of imaging system 100). Operations 500 may be implemented as software components that run and execute on one or more processors (e.g., processor 201).

[0043] The operations 500 may begin at 502, when the OCT controller 104 receives an instruction to initiate a first optical OCT scan of the eye. At 504, the OCT controller 104 initiates the first OCT scan of the eye (e.g., a whole eye scan, a retina scan, etc.) based on the received instruction. At 506, the OCT controller 104 generates a first OCT image of the eye (e.g., OCT image 300a, OCT image 400a) based on the first OCT scan (e.g., based on the scan data). At 508, the OCT controller 104 detects the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of the eye and the fovea of ​​the eye based on the first OCT image. At 510, based on the detection, the OCT controller 104 causes a first enhanced OCT image to be displayed to the user, wherein the first enhanced OCT image (e.g., enhanced OCT image 300b, enhanced OCT image 400b) displays a first virtual marker (e.g., virtual marker 305, virtual marker 401) that segments at least a portion of the detected RPE, the first virtual marker being a curve, and a second virtual marker (e.g., virtual marker 306, virtual marker 402) that visually identifies the position of the detected fovea and is a radial line that passes through the position of the detected fovea.

[0044] In some implementations, the OCT controller 104 detects an abnormal macular anatomical configuration in the eye (e.g., an abnormal macular condition) based on the first OCT image, and in response to detecting the abnormal macular anatomical configuration, the OCT controller 104 sends an alert to the user advising against the use of a multifocal IOL (e.g., a contrast-reducing multifocal or EDOF IOL).

[0045] In some embodiments, the OCT controller 104 initiates a second OCT scan of the eye in response to completion of the first OCT scan. In some implementations, the OCT controller 104 generates a second OCT image of the eye based on the second OCT scan. In some implementations, the OCT controller 104 detects the RPE of the eye and the fovea of ​​the eye based on the second OCT image. In some implementations, the OCT controller 104 displays, on the second enhanced OCT image based on the detection, a third virtual marker (e.g., virtual marker 305, virtual marker 401) that segments at least the same portion of the detected RPE as the first virtual marker, and a fourth virtual marker (e.g., virtual marker 306, virtual marker 402) that spans at least the same portion of the location of the detected fovea as the first virtual marker. In some implementations, the OCT controller 104 causes the second enhanced OCT image to be displayed to the user (e.g., via the display 106).

[0046] In some embodiments, the OCT controller 104 sends an alert to the user, the alert requesting the user to confirm whether the fovea was accurately detected in at least one of the first enhanced OCT image or the second OCT enhanced image. In some implementations, the second OCT scan of the eye is a retinal scan of the eye, and the second OCT image of the eye is a retinal image of the eye (e.g., image 400a).

[0047] In some implementations, the third virtual marker (e.g., virtual marker 305, virtual marker 401) is a curve, and the curvature of the curve matches the curvature of the posterior part of the eye. In some implementations, the first virtual marker (e.g., virtual marker 305, virtual marker 401) and the second virtual marker (e.g., virtual marker 306, virtual marker 402) intersect perpendicularly. In some implementations, the fourth virtual marker is a straight line (e.g., a radial line passing through the detected position of the fovea).

[0048] In some implementations, the second virtual marker (e.g., virtual marker 306) extends through the anterior portion of the retina of the eye on the first enhanced OCT image (e.g., image 300b). In some implementations, the first OCT image (e.g., image 300a) is an OCT B-scan image and complete biometry of the eye.

[0049] The above-described methods and apparatus provide novel systems and methods for displaying virtual imaging markers that can be utilized to improve the accuracy and verification of biometry measurements of a patient's eye. For example, the described systems and methods improve a user's ability to efficiently and accurately verify whether an axial length measurement was correctly determined by an imaging system.

[0050] While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, which scope is determined by the claims that follow.

[0051] Embodiment 1: An imaging system comprising: a memory including computer-executable instructions; and executing the computer-executable instructions, the imaging system receiving an instruction to initiate a first optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan of an eye; initiating the first OCT scan of the eye based on the received instruction; generating a first OCT image of the eye based on the first OCT scan; detecting a retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of the eye and a fovea of ​​the eye based on the first OCT image; and displaying a first enhanced OCT image to a user based on the detection, the first enhanced OCT image including a first virtual marker that segments at least a portion of the detected RPE, the first virtual marker being a curve; and a second virtual marker that segments the detected RPE. and a second virtual marker that visually identifies the location of the fovea and is a radial line passing through the detected location of the fovea; and upon completion of the first OCT scan, initiate a second OCT scan of the eye, generate a second OCT image of the eye based on the second OCT scan, detect the RPE of the eye and the fovea of ​​the eye based on the second OCT image, and based on the detection, display on the second enhanced OCT image a third virtual marker that segments at least a portion of the detected RPE that is the same as the first virtual marker and a fourth virtual marker that spans at least a portion of the detected fovea location that is the same as the first virtual marker; and display the second enhanced OCT image to a user.

[0052] 2. The imaging system of embodiment 1, wherein the second OCT scan of the eye is a retinal scan of the eye and the second OCT image of the eye is a retinal image of the eye.

[0053] 2. The imaging system of embodiment 1, wherein the third virtual marker is a curve, the curvature of which matches the curvature of the posterior part of the eye.

[0054] 2. An imaging system as described in embodiment 1, wherein the first virtual marker and the second virtual marker intersect perpendicularly.

[0055] 2. The imaging system of embodiment 1, wherein the second virtual marker extends through the anterior portion of the retina of the eye on the first enhanced OCT image.

[0056] 2. The imaging system of embodiment 1, wherein the first OCT image is an OCT B-scan image and complete biometry of the eye. The present application includes the following aspects. [Aspect 1] 1. A method comprising: receiving an instruction to initiate a first optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan of the eye; initiating the first OCT scan of the eye based on the received instruction; generating a first OCT image of the eye based on the first OCT scan; detecting a retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of the eye and a fovea of ​​the eye based on the first OCT image; Based on the detection, displaying a first enhanced OCT image to a user, the first enhanced OCT image comprising: a first virtual marker that segments at least a portion of the detected RPE, the first virtual marker being a curve; displaying a second virtual marker that visually identifies the location of the detected fovea and that is a radial line passing through the location of the detected fovea; A method comprising: [Aspect 2] Detecting an abnormal macula anatomical configuration in the eye based on the first OCT image; The method of aspect 1, further comprising, in response to detecting the abnormal macula anatomical configuration, sending an alert to the user advising against the use of a contrast-reducing multifocal intraocular optical lens (IOL). [Aspect 3] initiating a second OCT scan of the eye responsive to completion of the first OCT scan; generating a second OCT image of the eye based on the second OCT scan; detecting the RPE of the eye and the fovea of ​​the eye based on the second OCT image; Based on the detection, on the second enhanced OCT image, a third virtual marker that segments at least the same portion of the detected RPE as the first virtual marker; a fourth virtual marker that spans at least the same portion of the location of the detected fovea as the first virtual marker; 2. The method of embodiment 1, further comprising: displaying the second enhanced OCT image to the user. [Aspect 4] The method of aspect 3, further comprising sending an alert to the user, the alert requesting the user to confirm whether the fovea was accurately detected in at least one of the first enhanced OCT image or the second OCT enhanced image. [Aspect 5] 4. The method of aspect 3, wherein the second OCT scan of the eye is a retinal scan of the eye and the second OCT image of the eye is a retinal image of the eye. [Aspect 6] 4. The method of embodiment 3, wherein the third virtual marker is a curve, the curvature of the curve matching the curvature of the posterior portion of the eye. [Aspect 7] 2. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the first virtual marker and the second virtual marker intersect perpendicularly. [Aspect 8] 2. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the second virtual marker extends through the anterior portion of the retina of the eye on the first enhanced OCT image. [Aspect 9] 2. The method of aspect 1, wherein the first OCT image is an OCT B-scan image and complete biometry of the eye. [Aspect 10] 1. An imaging system comprising: a memory containing computer-executable instructions; executing the computer-executable instructions and providing the imaging system with receiving an instruction to initiate a first optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan of the eye; initiating the first OCT scan of the eye based on the received instructions; generating a first OCT image of the eye based on the first OCT scan; detecting a retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of the eye and a fovea of ​​the eye based on the first OCT image; Based on the detection, displaying a first enhanced OCT image to a user, the first enhanced OCT image comprising: a first virtual marker that segments at least a portion of the detected RPE, the first virtual marker being a curve; displaying a second virtual marker, the second virtual marker visually identifying the location of the detected fovea and being a radial line; and a processor configured to: [Aspect 11] The processor controls the imaging system to: detecting an anatomical configuration of the intraocular abnormality based on the first OCT image; The imaging system of aspect 10, further configured to, in response to detection of the abnormal anatomical configuration, send an alert to the user advising against the use of a multifocal intraocular optical lens (IOL) that reduces contrast. [Aspect 12] The processor controls the imaging system to: initiating a second OCT scan of the eye upon completion of the first OCT scan; generating a second OCT image of the eye based on the second OCT scan; detecting the RPE of the eye and the fovea of ​​the eye based on the second OCT image; Based on the detection, on the second enhanced OCT image, a third virtual marker that segments at least the same portion of the detected RPE as the first virtual marker; a fourth virtual marker spanning at least a portion of the detected location of the fovea as the first virtual marker; 11. The imaging system of embodiment 10, further configured to display the second enhanced OCT image to the user. [Aspect 13] The processor controls the imaging system to: The imaging system of aspect 12, further configured to send an alert to the user, the alert requesting the user to confirm whether the fovea is accurately detected in at least one of the first enhanced OCT image or the second OCT enhanced image. [Aspect 14] 13. The imaging system of claim 12, wherein the second OCT scan of the eye is a retinal scan of the eye and the second OCT image of the eye is a retinal image of the eye. [Aspect 15] 13. The imaging system of claim 12, wherein the third virtual marker is a curve, the curvature of the curve matching the curvature of the posterior portion of the eye.

Claims

1. 1. A method comprising: receiving an instruction to initiate a first optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan of the eye; initiating the first optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan of the eye based on the received instruction; and generating a first OCT image of the eye based on the first OCT scan; detecting a retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of the eye and a fovea of ​​the eye based on the first OCT image; Based on the detection, displaying a first enhanced OCT image to a user, the first enhanced OCT image comprising: a first virtual marker that segments at least a portion of the detected RPE, the first virtual marker being a curve; displaying a second virtual marker, the second virtual marker visually identifying the location of the detected fovea and being a radial line passing through the location of the detected fovea; Including, The method, wherein the first virtual marker and the second virtual marker intersect perpendicularly.

2. Detecting an abnormal macula anatomical configuration in the eye based on the first OCT image; 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to detecting the abnormal macular anatomical configuration, sending an alert to the user advising against the use of a contrast-reducing multifocal intraocular optical lens (IOL).

3. initiating a second OCT scan of the eye responsive to completion of the first OCT scan; generating a second OCT image of the eye based on the second OCT scan; detecting the RPE of the eye and the fovea of ​​the eye based on the second OCT image; Based on the detection, on the second enhanced OCT image: a third virtual marker that segments at least the same portion of the detected RPE as the first virtual marker; a fourth virtual marker that spans at least the same portion of the detected location of the fovea as the first virtual marker; The method of claim 1 , further comprising: displaying the second enhanced OCT image to the user.

4. 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising sending an alert to the user, the alert requesting the user to confirm whether the fovea was accurately detected in at least one of the first enhanced OCT image or the second enhanced OCT image.

5. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the second OCT scan of the eye is a retinal scan of the eye and the second OCT image of the eye is a retinal image of the eye.

6. The method of claim 3 , wherein the third virtual marker is a curve, the curvature of the curve matching the curvature of the posterior portion of the eye.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second virtual marker extends through an anterior portion of the retina of the eye on the first enhanced OCT image.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first OCT image is an OCT B-scan image and complete biometry of the eye.

9. An imaging system for carrying out the method of any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising: a memory containing computer-executable instructions; executing the computer-executable instructions and providing the imaging system with receiving an instruction to initiate the first optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan of the eye; initiating the first OCT scan of the eye based on the received instructions; generating the first OCT image of the eye based on the first OCT scan; detecting a retinal pigment epithelium (the RPE) of the eye and the fovea of ​​the eye based on the first OCT image; Based on the detection, displaying the first enhanced OCT image to the user, the first enhanced OCT image comprising: the first virtual marker that segments at least a portion of the detected RPE, the first virtual marker being a curve; displaying the second virtual marker, the second virtual marker visually identifying the location of the detected fovea and being a radial line; and a processor configured to:

10. The processor controls the imaging system to: detecting an anatomical configuration of the intraocular abnormality based on the first OCT image; 10. The imaging system of claim 9, further configured to, in response to detecting the abnormal anatomical configuration, send an alert to the user advising against the use of a contrast-reducing multifocal intraocular optical lens (IOL).

11. The processor controls the imaging system to: initiating a second OCT scan of the eye upon completion of the first OCT scan; generating a second OCT image of the eye based on the second OCT scan; detecting the RPE of the eye and the fovea of ​​the eye based on the second OCT image; Based on the detection, on the second enhanced OCT image: a third virtual marker that segments at least the same portion of the detected RPE as the first virtual marker; a fourth virtual marker spanning at least the same portion of the detected location of the fovea as the first virtual marker; The imaging system of claim 9 , further configured to display the second enhanced OCT image to the user.

12. The processor controls the imaging system to:

12. The imaging system of claim 11, further configured to send an alert to the user, the alert requesting the user to confirm whether the fovea is accurately detected in at least one of the first enhanced OCT image or the second enhanced OCT image.

13. 12. The imaging system of claim 11, wherein the second OCT scan of the eye is a retinal scan of the eye and the second OCT image of the eye is a retinal image of the eye.

14. The imaging system of claim 11 , wherein the third virtual marker is a curve, the curvature of the curve matching the curvature of the posterior portion of the eye.

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