Adaptive Optics Ophthalmoscope With Scalable Entrance Pupil
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopes (AOSLO) face long scanning times and limited image acquisition areas due to mismatched entrance pupils between the ophthalmoscope optics and the eye, leading to inefficiencies in data collection.
Innovation Solution
The ophthalmoscope design matches the entrance pupil of the ophthalmoscope optics to the entrance pupil of the eye by using interchangeable eyepiece lenses with different refractive properties, allowing for efficient light energy transfer and improved resolution, and includes an electronic controller for automatic image scaling and adjustment based on eye geometry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the entrance pupil of the ophthalmoscope is fixed and does not match the eye's entrance pupil, then the device structure remains simple, but light energy transfer efficiency decreases and scan time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The optical system transitions from a fixed entrance pupil to a dynamic, adjustable entrance pupil that can be modified by selecting different eyepiece lenses. This allows the system to adapt its light-gathering characteristics to match the patient's eye, improving data collection efficiency without requiring a completely reconfigurable optical system.
Solution Approach 2:
The entrance pupil size is changed by selecting eyepiece lenses with different optical parameters (focal lengths, diameters). This parameter adjustment optimizes the matching between the instrument's entrance pupil and the eye's entrance pupil, thereby improving light energy transfer efficiency and reducing scan time.
2Loss of time
If the entrance pupil is matched to the eye, then light energy transfer efficiency improves and scan time reduces, but the device requires interchangeable lenses increasing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The optical system is segmented into modular components, with the eyepiece lens as a separable element that can be exchanged independently. This segmentation allows the complex function of pupil matching to be achieved through simple lens replacement rather than requiring a complex integrated system.
Solution Approach 2:
The interchangeable eyepiece lenses serve multiple functions: they act as the optical element for viewing, they define the entrance pupil size, and they provide the magnification needed for retinal imaging. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional specialized components.
3Reliability
If discrete fixed lenses are used instead of movable zoom lenses, then the system becomes more robust and simpler, but the ability to continuously adjust pupil size is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses multiple discrete, fixed eyepiece lenses rather than a single adjustable zoom lens. Each lens is a simple, robust component with no moving parts, prioritizing reliability and ease of manufacture over continuous adjustability. The limited set of discrete lenses provides sufficient adaptability for different patient needs.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly reduces scan times to potentially five minutes, maximizes image information collection, and enhances resolution and field-of-view by aligning the entrance pupils, while avoiding complex zoom structures and movable lenses.
Implementation Method 1
at least one eyepiece lens is positionable in an optical path between the eye and instrument aperture providing selectable different instrument entrance pupils with respect to the instrument aperture
Data Source
AI summary
An ophthalmoscope provides one or more eyepiece lenses that provide an adjustable entrance pupil allowing the entrance pupil of the ophthalmoscope to match the entrance pupil of the eye to increase the collected image information within the constraints of the eye pupil size, reducing scan times for given light energy.