CN110074752B - A cone cell imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a cone cell imaging device, which comprises an Adaptive Optical Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope (AOSLO), an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and an imaging processing device, wherein after a light beam of a cone cell entering the fundus through the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is processed and returned, the light beam is processed with the light beam of the Adaptive Optical Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) and then is subjected to interference processing, and a processed interference signal is sent to the imaging processing device to generate a high-precision three-dimensional image, so that the movement condition of the cone cell of the fundus can be observed.

Description

A cone cell imaging device

Technical Field

The present invention generally relates to an imaging device, and more particularly to a cone imaging device.

Background Art

The application of adaptive optics (AO) in ophthalmology is to adaptively correct various aberrations of the optical system through the wavefront sensor-wavefront controller, greatly improving the lateral resolution of the system. The human eye itself is an optical system. Various aberrations often exist in the optical system during the measurement of the human eye, which seriously affects the imaging quality. Introducing adaptive optics technology in the optical system can solve this problem. This patent combines the adaptive optical scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) with optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology to greatly improve the resolution of the system in two-dimensional space, observe the retinal layer activity caused by its cone cell level activity, and evaluate the activity ability of cone cells.

Because cone cells can receive light stimulation and convert light energy into nerve impulses, and they contain photosensitive substances (rhodopsin). Under light stimulation, photosensitive substances can undergo a series of photochemical changes and potential changes, causing cone cells to generate nerve impulses. The present invention can stimulate the cone cell layer on the retina through broadband light from a light source, and observe the movement of the cone cells to each layer of the retina when the cone cells emit nerve impulses. The dynamic information is extracted from the collected retinal three-dimensional image information, and the activity of the cells is analyzed to evaluate the retinal light perception process.

Photoreceptors are the photosensitive nerves of the retina, and cones are an important part of photoreceptors, mainly distributed in the fovea. Their important function is to distinguish colors. There are three types of cones in the retina that are particularly sensitive to different wavelengths. One type has an absorption peak outside 420nm, one type outside 531nm, and one type outside 558nm, which basically corresponds to the wavelengths of blue, green, and red light. The onset of red and green color blindness is closely related to the activity of cones. Therefore, observing the activity of cones is of great significance for the study of color blindness.

Related technologies close to the present invention include: the adaptive optical laser ophthalmoscope principle mentioned in "A laser diffraction line scanning confocal ophthalmoscope system based on adaptive optics" (CN201210523966.4) and "Scanning optical image acquisition device with adaptive optical system and control method thereof" (CN201080016622.3). However, unlike the above-mentioned system applications, this patent is combined with optical coherence tomography technology to observe the activities of various layers of the retina caused by the stimulation of cone cells, filling the gap in the field of cone cell activity detection.

Summary of the invention

In order to overcome the defects of the prior art, the present invention provides a cone cell imaging device, which can clearly observe the activities of cone cells in the fundus.

In order to achieve the above technical effects, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

A cone cell imaging device, the device includes an adaptive optical scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO), an optical coherence tomography (OCT) and an imaging processing device, wherein the adaptive optical scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) includes a first light source module, a wavefront detection module, a correction control module, and a scanning module; the optical coherence tomography (OCT) includes a second light source module, an interference module and an interference signal receiving module.

As an improvement of the above technical solution, the adaptive optical scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) further includes a beam splitter (BS), a focusing lens (FL) and a photomultiplier tube (PMT).

As an improvement of the above technical solution, the adaptive optical scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) further includes a 4f system and a photomultiplier tube (PMT).

As an improvement of the above technical solution, the light source module includes a laser and a fiber coupler.

As an improvement of the above technical solution, the wavefront detection module includes a wavefront sensor.

As an improvement of the above technical solution, the correction control module includes a deformable mirror, the scanning module includes a scanning galvanometer, and the scanning galvanometer includes a fast transverse scanning galvanometer and a slow longitudinal scanning galvanometer.

As an improvement of the above technical solution, the second light source module is the same as or different from the first light source module.

As an improvement of the above technical solution, the interference module includes a polarization controller and a collimator.

As an improvement of the above technical solution, the interference signal receiving module includes a spectrometer module and a balanced detector, the spectrometer module includes a grating, a focusing lens and a camera, wherein the grating is a diffraction grating, the camera is a linear camera, and the imaging processing device includes a computer.

Technical effect:

The present invention provides a cone cell imaging device, which includes an adaptive optical scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO), an optical coherence tomography (OCT) and an imaging processing device. After the light beam entering the cone cells of the fundus through the optical coherence tomography (OCT) is processed and returned, it is interfered with the light beam processed by the adaptive optical scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO), and the processed interference signal is sent to the imaging processing device to generate a high-precision three-dimensional image, which can realize clear observation of the activity of the cone cells in the fundus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following and other advantages and features will become more fully understood from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, which must be considered in an illustrative and non-limiting manner, in which:

FIG1 is a structural diagram of a cone cell imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a cone cell imaging device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following will be combined with the embodiments and drawings to clearly and completely describe the concept, specific structure and technical effects of the present invention, so as to fully understand the purpose, scheme and effect of the present invention. It should be noted that the embodiments and features in the embodiments of this application can be combined with each other without conflict.

It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, when a feature is referred to as being "fixed" or "connected" to another feature, it may be directly fixed or connected to the other feature, or it may be indirectly fixed or connected to the other feature. In addition, the descriptions of up, down, left, right, etc. used in the present invention are only relative to the relative positional relationship of the components of the present invention in the accompanying drawings. The singular forms "a", "said", and "the" used in the present invention and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

In addition, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those generally understood by those skilled in the art. The terms used in this specification are only for describing specific embodiments, not for limiting the present invention. The term "and/or" used herein includes any combination of one or more related listed items.

It should be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used to describe various elements in the present disclosure, these elements should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish the same type of elements from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the first element may also be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element may also be referred to as the first element. Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at the time of" or "when...".

Fig. 1 is a structural diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the present invention provides a device comprising an adaptive optical scanning laser ophthalmoscope AOSLO, an optical coherence tomography OCT and a processing device, wherein the adaptive optical scanning laser ophthalmoscope AOSLO comprises a first light source module, a wavefront detection module, a correction control module and a scanning module; the optical coherence tomography OCT comprises a second light source module, an interference module and an interference signal receiving module.

In one embodiment of the present invention, preferably, the first light source module includes a laser and a fiber coupler, wherein the laser is used to continuously emit light source, and the laser may be a super luminescent semiconductor laser, or a supercontinuum light source SCL.

In one embodiment of the present invention, preferably, the wavefront detection module includes a wavefront sensor WVS for acquiring wavefront aberration.

In one embodiment of the present invention, preferably, the correction control module includes a deformable mirror DM, and the angle of the light can be controlled by changing the mirror angle of the deformable mirror.

In one embodiment of the present invention, preferably, the scanning module includes a scanning galvanometer, wherein the scanning galvanometer includes a fast transverse scanning galvanometer FS and a slow longitudinal scanning galvanometer SS for scanning the fundus, and the fast transverse scanning galvanometer FS and the slow longitudinal scanning galvanometer SS combine to scan and converge the light at the retinal layer of the fundus to the cone cell layer.

In one embodiment of the present invention, preferably, the second light source module is the same as the first light source module.

In another embodiment of the present invention, preferably, the second light source module is different from the first light source module.

In one embodiment of the present invention, preferably, the interference module includes a polarization controller PC and a collimator CL.

In one embodiment of the present invention, preferably, the interference signal receiving module comprises a grating, a focusing lens and a camera, wherein the grating is a diffraction grating and the camera is a linear camera.

In one embodiment of the present invention, preferably, the imaging processing device comprises a computer.

As shown in Figure 1, the specific optical path is as follows: the broadband light emitted by the supercontinuum light source SCL first enters the fiber coupler FOC and is then divided into two beams of light. The first beam of light enters the adaptive optical scanning laser ophthalmoscope AOSLO (also known as the reference arm), and the second beam of light enters the optical coherence tomography OCT. In detail, the first beam of light passes through the third polarization controller PC3, and is collimated by the first collimator CL1, and then is focused by the second focusing lens FL2, and the light is transmitted to the plane mirror M, and then the plane mirror M returns the first beam of light to the fiber coupler FOC according to the reflection principle.

The second light beam is processed by the first polarization controller PC1, and is incident on the first curved mirror CM1 and the second curved mirror CM2 through the color splitter DRM and the first beam splitter BS. The first curved mirror CM1 and the second curved mirror CM2 form a first confocal system for eliminating system stray light. The second light beam processed by the confocal system is then incident on the deformable mirror DM. The incident angle of the second light beam can be adjusted by controlling the mirror angle of the deformable mirror DM. Then, it passes through the second confocal system composed of the third curved mirror CM3 and the fourth curved mirror CM4, and then is processed by a combination of a fast horizontal scanning galvanometer FS and a slow vertical scanning galvanometer SS, wherein a fifth curved mirror CM5 and a sixth curved mirror CM6 are arranged between the fast horizontal scanning galvanometer FS and the slow vertical scanning galvanometer SS. The second light beam is then transmitted to the first plane mirror FM1 through the seventh curved mirror CM7 and the eighth curved mirror CM8, and then transmitted to the cone cells through the second plane mirror FM2. The second light beam returning from the cone cells at the fundus returns to the first beam splitter BS1 along the original path, is incident on the microlens array LEA and the wavefront sensor WVS through the second beam splitter BS2, obtains the wavefront aberration through the wavefront sensor WVS, returns to control the deformable mirror to correct the wavefront aberration, and then returns to the fiber coupler FOC.

At this point, the first light beam returned from the adaptive optical scanning laser ophthalmoscope AOSLO interferes with the second light beam returned from the optical coherence tomography OCT, is processed by the second polarization controller PC2, and is transmitted to the second collimator CL2 for collimation, and then processed by the grating G and transmitted to the first focusing lens FL1, and then transmitted to the camera. After the camera receives the data, it is transmitted to the computer device through the camera to be processed into three-dimensional imaging of cone cells.

Through the combination of optical coherence tomography (OCT) and optical coherence tomography (OCT), the movement of each retinal layer at the fundus can be presented through the light signal of adaptively correcting the aberration of the human eye, presenting a high-precision image of the human eye.

Because cone cells can receive light stimulation and convert light energy into nerve impulses, and they contain photosensitive substances (rhodopsin). Under light stimulation, photosensitive substances can undergo a series of photochemical changes and potential changes, causing cone cells to emit nerve impulses. The present invention can stimulate the cone cell layer on the retina through broadband light from a light source, and observe the movement of cone cells to each layer of the retina when they emit nerve impulses. The dynamic information of the retinal three-dimensional image information collected is extracted, and the activity of the cells is analyzed to evaluate the retinal light perception process.

In addition, the adaptive optical path is combined with a laser ophthalmoscope. The laser ophthalmoscope system includes a light source SCL, a collimating lens CL3, a beam splitter BS, a focusing lens FL3 and a photomultiplier tube PMT. Since the photomultiplier tube PMT receives the light signal of the human eye aberration that has been corrected by the adaptive optical path, the photomultiplier tube PMT can significantly multiply the processed light signal, so that after being processed by a computer, a high-precision human eye image can be presented.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a cone cell imaging device according to another embodiment of the present invention. The cone cell imaging device includes an adaptive optical scanning laser ophthalmoscope AOSLO and an optical coherence tomography OCT. The light beam to the human eye is divided into two paths, the first light beam comes from the adaptive optical scanning laser ophthalmoscope AOSLO, and the second light beam comes from the optical coherence tomography OCT.

The adaptive optical scanning laser ophthalmoscope AOSLO includes a light source, an attenuator, a beam splitter, a curved mirror, a galvanometer, a 4f system and a photomultiplier tube. The optical coherence tomography OCT includes a scanning light source, a fiber coupler, a balanced detector, a collimator and a grating. In the adaptive optical scanning laser ophthalmoscope AOSLO module, the first light beam starts from the light source + attenuator, propagates bidirectionally along the beam splitter, curved mirror, curved mirror, galvanometer, curved mirror, curved mirror, galvanometer, and is bidirectionally transmitted to the dichroic mirror, where a beam is split by the beam splitter and propagates unidirectionally to the 4f system and the photomultiplier tube in sequence.

In the optical coherence tomography (OCT) module, a light beam is emitted from a frequency-sweeping light source and propagates to a fiber coupler, and is simultaneously divided into two beams by the fiber coupler. The first beam propagates from the optical coherence tomography (OCT) module and sequentially propagates to the collimator, galvanometer, galvanometer, 4f system, and dichroic mirror; the second beam propagates through the fiber coupler. The second beam is divided into a third beam and a fourth beam. The third beam propagates bidirectionally to the collimator, grating, collimator, fiber coupler, and balanced detector in sequence. Similarly, the fourth beam propagates bidirectionally to the fiber coupler, collimator, fiber coupler, and balanced detector in sequence. Finally, the beam returns to the fiber coupler from which the beam is to be propagated.

The light beams passing through the adaptive optical scanning laser ophthalmoscope AOSLO and the optical coherence tomography OCT respectively intersect at the dichroic mirror and propagate bidirectionally to the human eye.

Obviously, the above embodiments are only examples for clear explanation, and are not intended to limit the implementation methods. For those skilled in the art, other different forms of changes or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is not necessary and impossible to list all the implementation methods here. The obvious changes or modifications derived from them are still within the protection scope of the invention.

Claims (5)

1. A cone imaging device, comprising an Adaptive Optical Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope (AOSLO), an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and an imaging processing device, wherein the Adaptive Optical Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) comprises a first light source module, a wavefront detection module, a correction control module, a scanning module; the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) comprises a second light source module, an interference module and an interference signal receiving module, wherein the interference module comprises a polarization controller and a collimating mirror, the interference signal receiving module comprises a spectrometer module and a balance detector, the spectrometer module comprises a grating, a focusing lens and a camera, the grating is a diffraction grating, the camera is a linear camera, and the imaging processing device comprises a computer;

The device further comprises a first collimator, a first galvanometer, a first 4f system and a dichroic mirror;

Wherein the light beams passing through the Adaptive Optical Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) and the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), respectively, meet at the dichroic mirror, propagating bi-directionally to the human eye;

Wherein the Adaptive Optical Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) comprises a light source, an attenuator, a spectroscope, a plurality of second curved mirrors, a plurality of second galvanometers, a second 4f system and a photomultiplier; within the Adaptive Optical Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope (AOSLO), a light beam is transmitted bi-directionally from the light source, along the attenuator, the beam splitter, the plurality of second curved mirrors, the plurality of second galvanometer mirrors, and bi-directionally to the dichroic mirror, wherein the light beam splits another light beam via the beam splitter and is transmitted uni-directionally to the 4f system, the photomultiplier tube in sequence;

Wherein the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) comprises a scanning light source and a fiber coupler; in the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), a light beam emitted by the scanning light source propagates to the optical fiber coupler and is divided into a first light beam and a second light beam by the optical fiber coupler, wherein the first light beam propagates out of the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) module and sequentially propagates to the first collimator, the first galvanometer, the first 4f system and the dichroic mirror; the second path of light beam is divided into a third light beam and a fourth light beam, the third light beam is transmitted to the collimating mirror, the grating and the balance detector in a bidirectional and sequential manner, the fourth light beam is transmitted to the collimating mirror and the balance detector in a bidirectional and sequential manner, and finally the third light beam and the fourth light beam are returned to the optical fiber coupler;

The light beam returned from the Adaptive Optical Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) interferes with the light beam returned from the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), is processed by the polarization controller, then is transmitted to the collimating lens, is processed by the grating, is transmitted to the focusing lens, is transmitted to the camera, is transmitted to the computer through the camera, and is processed into three-dimensional imaging of the cone cells.

2. The cone imaging device of claim 1, wherein the light source module comprises a laser and a fiber optic coupler.

3. The cone imaging device of claim 1, wherein the wavefront sensing module comprises a wavefront sensor.

4. The cone imaging device of claim 1, wherein the correction control module comprises a deformable mirror and the scanning module comprises a scanning galvanometer, wherein the scanning galvanometer comprises a fast transverse scanning galvanometer and a slow longitudinal scanning galvanometer.

5. The cone imaging device of claim 1, wherein the second light source module is the same or different from the first light source module.