R. Ferguson

Hand-held digital line-scanning laser ophthalmoscope (LSLO)

Scanning laser ophthalmoscopy is a powerful research tool with specialized but, to date, limited use in ophthalmic clinics due in part to the size, cost, and complexity of instruments. Conversely, low-cost retinal imaging devices have limited capabilities in screening, detection, and diagnosis of diseases. To fill the niche between these two, a low-cost, hand-held, line-scanning laser ophthalmoscope (LSLO) was designed, constructed, and tested on normal human subjects. The LSLO has only one moving part, multiple imaging modes, and uses low-cost but highly sensitive complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) linear arrays for imaging with a detector dynamic range of 12-bits. The line-scanning approach produces high contrast quasi-confocal images with nearly the same performance as a flying-spot SLO. Imaging modes include simultaneous dual wavelength illumination and live stereoscopic imaging with a split aperture. Image processing and display functions are controlled with two stacked prototype compact printed circuit boards using field-programmable gated arrays (FPGA) and other digital electronic elements. With near shot-noise limited performance, the digital LSLO camera requires low illumination power (~ 100 μW) at near-infrared wavelengths. Wide field fundus images with several imaging modes have been obtained from several human subjects. The LSLO will significantly enhance confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy for routine use by ophthalmologist, optometrists, general practitioners and also non-specialized emergency medical personnel and technicians in the field for retinal disease detection and other diverse applications.

A Cardiac Study on Zebrafish Using a Dual Beam Doppler OCT System

We present a high-throughput fiber optics-based Doppler SDOCT system that measures heart rate and blood velocity, and generates a flow map of the major blood vessels on zebrafish for cardiac studies.