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R Daniel Ferguson

Publications and source records attributed to R Daniel Ferguson.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Tracking optical coherence tomography.

An experimental tracking optical coherence tomography (OCT) system has been clinically tested. The prototype instrument uses a secondary sensing beam and steering mirrors to compensate for eye motion with a closed-loop bandwidth of 1 kHz and tracking accuracy, to within less than the OCT beam diameter. The retinal tracker improved image registration accuracy to <1 transverse pixel (<60 microm). Composite OCT images averaged over multiple scans and visits show a sharp fine structure limited only by transverse pixel size. As the resolution of clinical OCT systems improves, the capability to reproducibly map complex structures in the living eye at high resolution will lead to improved understanding of disease processes and improved sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic procedures.

Eye Movements↗

Compact scanning laser ophthalmoscope with high-speed retinal tracker.

The effectiveness of image stabilization with a retinal tracker in a multifunction, compact scanning laser ophthalmoscope (TSLO) was demonstrated in initial human subject tests. The retinal tracking system uses a co confocal reflectometer with a closed-loop optical servo system to lock onto features in the fundus. The system is multifarious and modular to allow configuration for many research a clinical applications. Adult volunteers were tested without mydriasis to optimize the tracking instrumentation and to characterize imaging performance. The retinal tracking system achieves a bandwidth of greater than 1 kHz, which permits tracking at rates that greatly exceed the maximum rate of motion of the human eye. The TSLO system stabilized images to an accuracy of 0.05 deg in all test subjects during ordinary saccades with a velocity up to approximately 500 deg/s. Feature lock was maintained for minutes despite subject eye blinking. Even when nearly 1000 frames were coadded, image blur was minimal. Successful frame coaddition allowed image acquisition with decreased noise in low-light applications. The retinal tracking system significantly enhances the imaging capabilities of the scanning laser ophthalmoscope.

Equipment Design↗

Active retinal tracker for clinical optical coherence tomography systems.

An active, hardware-based retinal tracker is integrated with a clinical optical coherence tomography (OCT) system to investigate the effects of stabilization on acquisition of high-resolution retinal sections. The prototype retinal tracker locks onto common fundus features, detects transverse eye motion via changes in feature reflectance, and positions the OCT diagnostic beam to fixed coordinates on the retina with mirrors driven by a feedback control loop. The system is tested in a full clinical protocol on subjects with normal and glaucomatous eyes. Experimental analysis software is developed to coalign and coadd multiple fundus and OCT images and to extract quantitative information on the location of structures in the images. Tracking is highly accurate and reproducible on all but one subject, resulting in the ability to scan the same retinal location continually over long periods of time. The results show qualitative improvement in 97% of coadded OCT scans and a reduction in the variance of the position of the optic disc cup edge to less than 1 pixel (< 60 microm). The tracking system can be easily configured for use in research on ultra-high-resolution OCT systems for advanced image modalities. For example, tracking will enable very high density 3-D scans of the retina, which are susceptible to eye motion artifacts even for new high-speed systems.

Adult↗