Movable Retinal Optical Assembly for Dual-Eye Imaging Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional retinal cameras face challenges in consistently producing high-quality images of both eyes during a single imaging procedure due to difficulties in aligning the optical assembly with each eye, especially when requiring manual intervention or subject head movement.
Innovation Solution
Retinal cameras with movable optical assemblies that can be shifted between positions along an arcuate path, allowing alignment with both eyes without requiring the subject to move their head, facilitated by manual or automatic control mechanisms and motors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the optical assembly is fixed in position, then the device structure is simple, but it cannot align with both eyes during a single imaging procedure
Solution Approach 1:
The optical assembly is transformed from a fixed structure to a movable one, capable of shifting between at least two positions to align with different eyes. The lens tube can be moved manually or automatically along a defined path, enabling the system to adapt to imaging requirements for both eyes while maintaining a relatively compact overall structure.
2Manufacturing precision
If manual alignment is used, then the device structure is simple, but imaging consistency and quality are poor
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates sensors and control mechanisms that detect the position of the optical assembly and the location of the eyes, providing feedback to the control system. This enables automatic adjustment of the lens tube position to achieve precise alignment with each eye, ensuring consistent imaging quality across multiple shots without requiring manual intervention for each alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The automatic control mechanism enables the system to self-adjust the optical assembly position based on detected eye locations and imaging requirements. The motor-driven lens tube positioning system can autonomously navigate to the correct position, eliminating the need for manual alignment operations and ensuring reproducible, high-precision alignment for both eyes.
3Productivity
If the subject moves their head for alignment, then no additional mechanisms are needed, but imaging efficiency and consistency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of moving the subject's head to achieve alignment with the fixed optical assembly, the invention inverts the approach by moving the optical assembly (lens tube) to align with the stationary subject's eyes. This reversal enables the subject to remain still during imaging, improving consistency and efficiency, while the motorized lens tube performs the alignment movements.
Data Source
AI summary
Introduced here are retinal cameras having one or more optical components whose position can be modified so that the left and right eyes can be imaged during a single imaging operation. Collectively, the optical component(s) may be referred to as an “optical assembly.” An optical assembly can include the objective lens, lens tube, and other optical components such as mirror(s), light source(s), capturing medium(s), etc. An optical assembly of a retinal camera may be movable between a first position and a second position along an arcuate path. By moving the optical assembly between the first and second positions along the arcuate path, the retinal camera can align the lens tube with the left and right eyes of an individual while clearing her nose. Thus, the retinal camera may generate images of the left and right eyes during an imaging procedure without requiring that the individual move her head.