Timothé Laforest

Co-integration of a smart CMOS image sensor and a spatial light modulator for real-time optical phase modulation

We present a CMOS light detector-actuator array, in which every pixel combines a spatial light modulator and a photodiode. It will be used in medical imaging based on acousto-optical coherence tomography with a digital holographic detection scheme. Our architecture is able to measure an interference pattern between a scattered beam transmitted through a scattering media and a reference beam. The array of 16 μm pixels pitch has a frame rate of several kfps, which makes this sensor compliant with the correlation time of light in biological tissues. In-pixel analog processing of the interference pattern allows controlling the polarization of a stacked light modulator and thus, to control the phase of the reflected beam. This reflected beam can then be focused on a region of interest, i.e. for therapy. The stacking of a photosensitive element with a spatial light modulator on the same chip brings a significant robustness over the state of the art such as perfect optical matching and reduced delay in controlling light.

Algorithm architecture co-design for ultra low-power image sensor

In a context of embedded video surveillance, stand alone leftbehind image sensors are used to detect events with high level of confidence, but also with a very low power consumption. Using a steady camera, motion detection algorithms based on background estimation to find regions in movement are simple to implement and computationally efficient. To reduce power consumption, the background is estimated using a down sampled image formed of macropixels. In order to extend the class of moving objects to be detected, we propose an original mixed mode architecture developed thanks to an algorithm architecture co-design methodology. This programmable architecture is composed of a vector of SIMD processors. A basic RISC architecture was optimized in order to implement motion detection algorithms with a dedicated set of 42 instructions. Definition of delta modulation as a calculation primitive has allowed to implement algorithms in a very compact way. Thereby, a 1920x1080@25fps CMOS image sensor performing integrated motion detection is proposed with a power estimation of 1.8 mW.

Quantitative phase imaging of retinal cells (Conference Presentation)

Vision process is ruled by several cells layers of the retina. Before reaching the photoreceptors, light entering the eye has to pass through a few hundreds of micrometers thick layer of ganglion and neurons cells. Macular degeneration is a non-curable disease of themacula occurring with age. This disease can be diagnosed at an early stage by imaging neuronal cells in the retina and observing their death chronically. These cells are phase objects locatedon a background that presents an absorption pattern and so difficult to see with standard imagingtechniques in vivo. Phase imaging methods usually need the illumination system to be on the opposite side of the sample with respect to theimaging system. This is a constraintand a challenge for phase imaging in-vivo. Recently, the possibility of performing phase contrast imaging from one side using properties of scattering media has been shown. This phase contrast imaging is based on the back illumination generated by the sample itself. Here, we present a reflection phase imaging technique based on oblique back-illumination. The oblique back-illumination creates a dark field image of the sample. Generating asymmetric oblique illumination allows obtaining differential phase contrast image, which in turn can be processed to recover a quantitative phase image. In the case of the eye, a transcleral illumination can generate oblique incident light on the retina and the choroidal layer.The back reflected light is then collected by the eye lens to produce dark field image. We show experimental results of retinal phase imagesin ex vivo samples of human and pig retina.

Overcoming the resolution limit in retinal imaging using the scattering properties of the sclera

In-vivo imaging of the eyes fundus is widely used to study eyes health. State of the art Adaptive Optics devices can resolve features up to a lateral resolution of 1.5 um. This resolution is still above what is needed to observe subcellular structures such as cone cells (1-1.25 um diameter). This limit in resolution is due to the small numerical aperture of the eye when the pupil is fully dilated (max 0.24). In our work, we overcome this limit using a non-standard illumination scheme. A laser beam is shined on the lateral choroid layer, whose scattered light is illuminating the eyes fundus. Thanks to a Spatial Light Modulator the scattered light from the choroid layer can be manipulated to produce a scanning focus spot on the fundus. The intensity of the reflected light from the fundus is collected from the pupil and used for reconstructing the image.

Monolithic device for on-chip fast optical phase conjugation integrating an image sensor and a spatial light modulator

Optical phase conjugation is a technique that could find many applications in medical imaging and industry. However, state of the art techniques are limited in speed, portability and efficiency. Especially for digital optical phase conjugation, the electronic delays for image readout on a camera and addressing a spatial light modulator make this technique unpractical for phase conjugation in biological medium. Furthermore, the calibration of such a system is a very complex and expensive task. Thus, we propose integrating on the same device a camera and a liquid crystals spatial light modulator to achieve phase control thanks to in-pixel processing of a photodiode signal.