SLO/OCT Eye Tracking for Visual Acuity Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Standard visual field and perimetry examinations lack fundus tracking, leading to inaccurate results when patients with poor fixation move their eyes during testing, as they fail to differentiate between central and peripheral vision and do not provide structural information essential for precise diagnosis.
Innovation Solution
A combined Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope and Optical Coherence Tomography (SLO/OCT) system is used to image the eye, with software tracking eye motion during examinations, allowing for accurate fundus imaging and overlaying functional and structural information for precise diagnosis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If standard visual field or perimetry examination is performed without fundus tracking, then the examination procedure is simple, but the measurement precision deteriorates when patients move their eyes during testing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines a scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) with perimetry examination equipment to create an integrated system. The SLO component continuously captures fundus images while visual field stimuli are presented, allowing simultaneous tracking of eye position and measurement of visual acuity. This merging of functions enables accurate localization of visual responses on the fundus even when patients move their eyes, resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and device complexity.
2Measurement precision
If fundus tracking is added to perimetry examination, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the scanning laser ophthalmoscope as an intermediary device that serves dual purposes: it tracks eye position by capturing fundus images and simultaneously presents visual field stimuli. The SLO's scanning laser beam acts as a mediator that can be dynamically positioned based on detected eye movements, ensuring stimuli are always presented at the correct retinal location even when fixation drifts. This intermediary approach enables precise fundus tracking without requiring a completely separate complex tracking system.
3Productivity
If separate examination systems are used for visual field testing and fundus imaging, then each system can be optimized independently, but examination time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the scanning laser ophthalmoscope and OCT capabilities into a single integrated examination system. This allows simultaneous acquisition of functional visual field data and structural fundus images during the same examination session. The integrated system eliminates the need for separate examinations, reducing total examination time while ensuring that functional and structural data are perfectly correlated through precise eye movement tracking and stimulus localization.
4Loss of information
If multiple separate examinations are performed, then comprehensive diagnostic information can be obtained, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous fundus imaging and eye tracking throughout the perimetry examination. The scanning laser ophthalmoscope continuously captures fundus images and monitors eye position during the entire visual field testing process, eliminating gaps between separate examinations. This continuous action ensures that both functional and structural diagnostic information are obtained in a single uninterrupted session, preventing information loss while minimizing examination time.
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 ensures accurate tracking of eye movement, providing detailed fundus images and correlating visual loss with structural eye features, reducing examination time and operator training while enhancing diagnostic accuracy.
Implementation Method 1
SLO imaging from a combined Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope and Optical Coherence Tomography (SLO/OCT) system is used to image the eye
Implementation Method 2
Optical Coherence Tomography (SLO/OCT) system is used to image the eye... the patient can be scanned using the OCT portion of the system so the doctor can see structural information
Data Source
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AI summary
A visual acuity examination is performed on a patient by bringing a confocal imaging apparatus up to a patient's eye. Stimuli at various points in the patient's field of view are generated while the patient fixates on a point. The patient's responses to the stimuli are recorded with the movement of the eye with is tracked with the aid of the confocal imaging apparatus. The position of said stimuli on the retina is corrected to take into account any movement of the eye between stimuli.