Retinal Imaging Eyebox Adaptation for Optical Artifact Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional retinal imaging systems suffer from limited eyeboxes that are not optimized for individual eyes, leading to alignment difficulties and image artifacts such as corneal reflections, iris reflections, lens flare, haze, and pupillary shadows, which undermine image fidelity and hinder accurate screening, diagnosis, and monitoring of retinal diseases.
Innovation Solution
A retinal imaging system that dynamically adjusts the eyebox location and illumination patterns based on eye sidedness and pathology of interest (POI), using a dynamic fixation target and alignment tracking to ensure optimal alignment and minimize image artifacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single fixed eyebox location is used for both left and right eyes, then device complexity is reduced, but image quality deteriorates due to unoptimized alignment for individual eyes and pathologies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic eyebox system that automatically adjusts the eyebox location based on detected eye sidedness (left or right eye) and selected pathology of interest. Instead of a fixed single eyebox, the system dynamically repositions the eyebox to optimized locations that account for anatomical variations between eyes and specific diagnostic requirements, thereby improving image quality without requiring manual intervention or complex mechanical adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the spatial parameters of the eyebox based on detected conditions. When left or right eye is detected, and when a specific pathology is selected, the eyebox position parameters are automatically adjusted to predetermined optimized locations. This parameter-based adaptation allows the system to maintain high image quality for different eye configurations and diagnostic scenarios without increasing physical device complexity.
2Measurement precision
If illumination brightness is increased to improve image fidelity, then image quality improves, but optical artifacts such as corneal reflections, iris reflections, lens flare, haze, and pupillary shadows become more pronounced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs selective illumination patterns that target specific regions of the retina based on the detected pathology of interest. Instead of uniformly illuminating the entire retina with high intensity, the system concentrates illumination in localized regions that are most relevant to the diagnostic condition being examined. This localised approach improves image fidelity in critical areas while minimizing the generation of optical artifacts in other regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses controlled over-illumination in specific localized regions rather than uniform illumination. By applying higher illumination intensity only where needed for specific pathologies while keeping other regions at lower intensity, the system achieves sufficient image fidelity for diagnosis without generating excessive optical artifacts that would occur with uniform high-intensity illumination across the entire retina.
Data Source
AI summary
A retinal imaging system includes an eyepiece lens assembly, an image sensor adapted to acquire a retinal image of an eye through the eyepiece lens assembly, and a controller communicatively coupled to the image sensor. The controller including logic that when executed causes the retinal imaging system to perform operations including: obtaining an indication of a pathology of interest (POI) related to the eye or an eye sidedness, selecting an eyebox location for an eyebox of the retinal imaging system based at least in part on the POI or an eye sidedness, and acquiring the retinal image of the eye when the eye is determined to be positioned within the eyebox. The eyebox corresponds to a bound region in space defined relative to the eyepiece lens assembly.