阅读说明：本技术 具有光挡板和用于扩展眼动范围的动态照明器的视网膜相机 (Retinal camera with optical baffle and dynamic illuminator for extending eye movement range ) 是由 E.格利克 S.卡武西 于 2019-07-03 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种视网膜成像系统包括用于获取视网膜图像的图像传感器和用于照亮视网膜以获取视网膜图像的动态照明器。该动态照明器包括中央挡板以及第一照明阵列和第二照明阵列。中央挡板从孔径延伸并围绕该孔径,用于视网膜图像的图像路径在到达图像传感器之前穿过该孔径。第一照明阵列沿着第一线形轴从孔径的第一彼此相反侧向外延伸。第二照明阵列沿着与第一线形轴基本上正交的第二线形轴从孔径的第二彼此相反侧向外延伸。(A retinal imaging system includes an image sensor for acquiring a retinal image and a dynamic illuminator for illuminating the retina to acquire the retinal image. The dynamic illuminator includes a central baffle and first and second illumination arrays. A central baffle extends from and surrounds an aperture through which an image path for the retinal image passes before reaching the image sensor. A first illumination array extends outwardly from first mutually opposite sides of the aperture along a first linear axis. A second illumination array extends outwardly from a second mutually opposite side of the aperture along a second linear axis substantially orthogonal to the first linear axis.)

1. A retinal imaging system comprising:

an image sensor adapted to acquire a retinal image; and

a dynamic illuminator for illuminating a retina to acquire the retinal image, the dynamic illuminator comprising:

a central baffle extending from and surrounding an aperture through which an image path for the retinal image passes before reaching the image sensor;

a first illumination array extending outwardly from a first mutually opposite side of the aperture along a first linear axis; and

a second illumination array extending outwardly from a second mutually opposite side of the aperture along a second linear axis, the second linear axis being substantially orthogonal to the first linear axis.

2. The retinal imaging system of claim 1 wherein the first illumination array extends radially outward from the first mutually opposite sides of the aperture along the first linear axis that intersects a center of the aperture and the second illumination array extends radially outward from the second mutually opposite sides of the aperture along the second linear axis that also intersects the center of the aperture.

3. The retinal imaging system of claim 1 wherein the first illumination array comprises a plurality of first discrete illumination sources and the second illumination array comprises a plurality of second discrete illumination sources.

4. The retinal imaging system of claim 3, wherein the first and second discrete illumination sources are each surrounded by a corresponding illumination baffle, each illumination baffle limiting the emission divergence pattern of a corresponding one of the first and second discrete illumination sources.

5. The retinal imaging system of claim 1 wherein the central baffle is conical and has a circular cross-sectional shape.

6. The retinal imaging system of claim 3, wherein the central baffle at least partially overlaps an innermost one of the first and second discrete illumination sources that is immediately adjacent to the central baffle, and wherein the central baffle is located in the retinal imaging system such that the central baffle casts a shadow when the innermost one of the first and second discrete illumination sources is illuminated.

7. The retinal imaging system of claim 6 wherein the angle and depth of the central baffle are configured to achieve a particular separation range between the image path and the illumination path at the iris when the retinal image is acquired.

8. The retinal imaging system of claim 3, wherein the first discrete illumination source is positioned symmetrically about the second linear axis and the second discrete illumination source is positioned symmetrically about the first linear axis.

9. The retinal imaging system of claim 3, further comprising:

an alignment tracker to track alignment between the retinal imaging system and an eye of the retina; and

a controller coupled to an image sensor, the alignment tracker, and the dynamic illuminator, the controller including logic that, when executed by the controller, causes the retinal imaging system to perform operations comprising:

determining an alignment between the retinal imaging system and the eye;

generating a circular illumination pattern with the dynamic illuminator upon determining that the retinal imaging system is approximately centered with the gaze direction of the eye; and

generating a non-circular illumination pattern with the dynamic illuminator when the retinal imaging system is determined to be offset from the gaze direction of the eye.

10. The retinal imaging system of claim 9, wherein generating the circular illumination pattern comprises:

simultaneously illuminating an innermost one of the first and second discrete illumination sources immediately adjacent the central baffle.

11. The retinal imaging system of claim 9, wherein generating the non-circular illumination pattern comprises:

illuminating a single one of the first or second discrete illumination sources when it is determined that the retinal imaging system is offset from the gaze direction in a single direction, wherein the single one of the first or second discrete illumination sources is located on an opposite side of the aperture from the offset in the single direction.

12. The retinal imaging system of claim 9, wherein generating the non-circular illumination pattern comprises:

illuminating one of the first discrete illumination sources and one of the second discrete illumination sources when it is determined that the retinal imaging system is offset from the gaze direction in two directions, wherein the one of the first discrete illumination sources and the one of the second discrete illumination sources are respectively located on opposite sides of the aperture from the offset in the two directions.

13. The retinal imaging system of claim 9, wherein the controller includes further logic that, when executed by the controller, causes the retinal imaging system to perform further operations comprising:

when it is determined that the alignment of the retinal imaging system transitions between a center alignment and an offset alignment, the dynamic illuminator is smoothly faded between the circular illumination pattern and the non-circular illumination pattern.

14. The retinal imaging system of claim 1, wherein the central baffle comprises:

a first cylindrical shield wall having a first height extending from the plane of the aperture; and

a second cylindrical shield wall having a second height extending from the plane of the aperture, wherein the second cylindrical shield wall surrounds the first cylindrical shield wall, and wherein the first height is greater than the second height.

15. The retinal imaging system of claim 14, wherein the first illumination array and the second illumination array each comprise:

two inboard discrete illumination sources disposed radially between the first and second cylindrical shroud walls; and

a plurality of outer discrete illumination sources disposed radially outward of the second cylindrical shroud wall.

16. A method of imaging a retina, comprising:

determining an alignment between the retinal imaging system and the eye;

generating a circular illumination pattern with a dynamic illuminator upon determining that the retinal imaging system is aligned with the gaze direction center of the eye;

generating a non-circular illumination pattern with the dynamic illuminator upon determining that the retinal imaging system is offset from the gaze direction of the eye; and

image light of the retina is acquired with an image sensor of the retina imaging system.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the dynamic luminaire comprises:

a first discrete illumination source extending radially outward from a first mutually opposite side of the central baffle along a first linear axis; and

a second discrete illumination source extending radially outward from a second mutually opposite side of the central baffle along a second linear axis, the second linear axis being substantially orthogonal to the first linear axis.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

passing the image light of the retina along an image path through an aperture surrounded by the central baffle to the image sensor; and

blocking at least a portion of image artifacts with the central baffle from reaching the image sensor, wherein the image artifacts are due at least to scattering or specular reflection of illumination light from the dynamic illuminator.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

casting a shadow with the central baffle into the eye by blocking portions of illumination light emitted from innermost ones of the first and second discrete illumination sources that are immediately adjacent to the central baffle, wherein the shadow reduces the image artifacts reaching the image sensor.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein generating the circular illumination pattern comprises:

simultaneously illuminating an innermost one of the first and second discrete illumination sources immediately adjacent the central baffle.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein generating the non-circular illumination pattern comprises:

illuminating one of the first discrete illumination source or the second discrete illumination source when it is determined that the retinal imaging system is offset from the gaze direction in a single direction, wherein the one of the first discrete illumination source or the second discrete illumination source is located on an opposite side of the central baffle from the offset in the single direction.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein generating the non-circular illumination pattern comprises:

illuminating one of the first discrete illumination sources and one of the second discrete illumination sources when it is determined that the retinal imaging system is offset from the gaze direction in two directions, wherein the one of the first discrete illumination sources and the one of the second discrete illumination sources are located on opposite sides of the central baffle from the offset in the two directions.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the one of the first or second discrete illumination sources is selected to have a larger peripheral offset from the central baffle as the offset in the single direction increases.

24. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

limiting the emission divergence pattern of the first and second illumination sources with an illumination baffle surrounding each of the first and second illumination sources.

25. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

when it is determined that the alignment of the retinal imaging system transitions between a center alignment and an offset alignment, the dynamic illuminator is smoothly faded between the circular illumination pattern and the non-circular illumination pattern.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to retinal imaging techniques and in particular, but not exclusively, to illumination techniques for retinal imaging.

Background

Retinal imaging is part of the basic ophthalmic examination for screening, on-site diagnosis and progress monitoring of many retinal diseases. High fidelity retinal images are important for accurate screening, diagnosis and monitoring. Bright illumination of the posterior inner surface of the eye (i.e., the retina) by the pupil improves image fidelity, but often creates optical aberrations or image artifacts, such as corneal reflections, iris reflections, or lens flare, if the retinal camera and illumination source are not sufficiently aligned with the eye. Simply increasing the brightness of the illumination does not overcome these problems, but rather makes the optical artifacts more visible, which undermines the goal of improving image fidelity.

Therefore, camera alignment is very important, especially in the case of conventional retinal cameras, which typically have a very limited eye movement range (eyebox) due to the need to block the harmful image artifacts listed above. The eye movement range of the retinal camera is a three-dimensional region in space that is generally defined relative to the eyepiece of the retinal camera, and the center of the pupil or cornea of the eye should be within the eye movement range to acquire an acceptable image of the retina. The small size of the conventional eye movement range makes retinal camera alignment difficult and patient interaction during the alignment process is often stressful.

Various solutions have been proposed to alleviate the alignment problem. For example, mobile/motorized stages have been proposed that automatically adjust the retinal-camera alignment. However, these stages tend to be mechanically complex and substantially increase the cost of the retinal imaging platform. An effective and low cost solution for efficiently and easily achieving eye range alignment of a retinal camera would improve the operation of the retinal camera.

Disclosure of Invention

Drawings

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified. Not all instances of elements may be labeled as necessary to not obscure the drawings in place. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles described.

Fig. 1 illustrates a retinal image including image artifacts according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a retinal imaging system with a dynamic illuminator in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3A-D illustrate various views of a dynamic luminaire having a central baffle surrounded by an illumination array according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating operation of a retinal imaging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5A and 5B illustrate circular illumination patterns from a dynamic illuminator when a retinal imaging system is centered with the gaze direction of an eye, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5C illustrates a reduced overlap between the image path and the illumination path at the cornea, iris, and lens with a circular illumination pattern according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6A and 6B illustrate non-circular illumination patterns from a dynamic illuminator when a retinal imaging system is offset from a gaze direction in a single direction according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6C illustrates a reduced overlap between the image path and the illumination path at the cornea, iris, and lens with a non-circular illumination pattern according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7A illustrates a non-circular illumination pattern from a dynamic illuminator when a retinal imaging system is offset from a gaze direction by a greater magnitude in a single direction, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Fig. 7B illustrates a non-circular illumination pattern from the dynamic illuminator when the retinal imaging system is offset from the gaze direction in two directions, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8A is an illustrative thermal map showing an example cross-section of an illumination path at a corneal plane of an eye according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8B is an illustrative thermal map showing an example cross-section of an illumination path at an iris plane of an eye according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8C is an illustrative thermal map showing an example cross-section of an illumination path and an image path superimposed at an iris according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9A and 9B illustrate various views of a dynamic luminaire having a central baffle with a double cylindrical shield wall according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10A and 10B illustrate how a central baffle with dual cylindrical shroud walls limits both sides of emission divergence of illumination light emitted from the innermost discrete illumination source according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11A and 11B illustrate how a central baffle with a double cylindrical shroud wall limits the inner side of emission divergence of illumination light emitted from a second inner side discrete illumination source according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of systems, apparatuses, and methods of operation for a retinal camera with a dynamic illuminator having an extended eye motion range are described herein. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the techniques described herein can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects.

Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

High fidelity retinal images are important for screening, diagnosing and monitoring many retinal diseases. To this end, it is desirable to reduce or eliminate instances of image artifacts that occlude or otherwise harm portions of the retinal image. Fig. 1 shows an example retinal image 100 with a number of image artifacts 105. These image artifacts may result when misalignment between the retinal imaging system and the eye allows stray light and unwanted reflections from the illumination source to enter the image path and eventually be captured by the image sensor along with the retinal image light. Misalignment can lead to unwanted corneal/iris reflections, refractive dispersion from the lens, and blockage of the imaging aperture.

Conventional imaging systems have a relatively small eye movement range that requires precise alignment to avoid image artifacts entering the image path. Embodiments described herein provide a dynamic illuminator that changes its illumination pattern based on the detected alignment between the retinal imaging system and the eye. These dynamic changes in the illumination pattern extend the eye movement range without the use of complex or expensive mechanical components. The extended eye movement range reduces the alignment burden while reducing instances of image artifact obscuring or otherwise impairing the captured retinal image. The dynamic illuminator combines two different illumination architectures-one when the eye is approximately aligned with the optical axis or gaze direction of the eye (referred to herein as a circular illumination pattern), and another when the eye is offset from the optical axis or gaze direction of the eye (referred to herein as a non-circular illumination pattern or stacked illumination). By dynamically switching between these two illumination architectures, the eye-motion range of the retinal imaging system described herein can be extended by a factor of 2 or more compared to conventional ring illuminators.

FIG. 2 illustrates a retinal imaging system 200 with a dynamic illuminator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The illustrated embodiment of retinal imaging system 200 includes a dynamic illuminator 205, an image sensor 210 (also referred to as a retinal camera sensor), a controller 215, a user interface 220, a display 225, an alignment tracker 230, and an optical relay system. The illustrated embodiment of the optical relay system includes lenses 235, 240, 245 and a beam splitter 250. The illustrated embodiment of the dynamic illuminator 205 includes a central baffle 255 surrounding an aperture and an illumination array 265 extending from the central baffle 255.

The optical relay system is used to direct the illumination light 280 output from the dynamic illuminator 205 along an illumination path through the pupil of the eye 270 (e.g., to pass or reflect the illumination light 280) to illuminate the retina 275, while also directing image light 285 (i.e., a retinal image) of the retina 275 along an image path to the image sensor 210. Image light 285 is formed by the diffuse reflection of illumination light 280 off the retina 275. In the illustrated embodiment, the optical relay system also includes a beam splitter 250 that passes at least a portion of the image light 285 to the image sensor 210 while also directing display light 290 output from the display 225 to the eye 270. Beamsplitter 250 may be implemented as a polarizing beamsplitter, a non-polarizing beamsplitter (e.g., a 50/50 beamsplitter with 90% transmission and 10% reflection, etc.), a dichroic beamsplitter, or otherwise. The optical relay system includes a plurality of lenses, such as lenses 235, 240, and 245, to focus the respective optical paths as needed. For example, lens 235 may include one or more lens elements that collectively form an eyepiece that is displaced from the cornea of eye 270 at an eye relief 295 during operation. Lens 240 may include one or more lens elements for focusing image light 285 on image sensor 210. The lens 245 may include one or more lens elements for focusing the display light 290. It should be understood that the optical relay system may be implemented with a number of a wide variety of optical elements (e.g., lenses, reflective surfaces, diffractive surfaces, etc.).

In one embodiment, the display light 290 output from the display 225 is a fixation target or other visual stimulus. Fixation targets may not only help to achieve alignment between the retinal imaging system 200 and the eye 270 by providing visual feedback to the patient, but may also provide the patient with fixation targets on which the patient can place their vision. Display 225 may be implemented with various technologies including a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), various illuminated shapes (e.g., illuminated crosses or concentric circles), or others.

The controller 215 is coupled to the image sensor 210, the display 225, the dynamic illuminator 205, and the alignment tracker 230 to orchestrate their operation. The controller 215 may comprise software/firmware logic, hardware logic (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, etc.), or a combination of software and hardware logic that runs on a microcontroller. Although fig. 2 shows controller 215 as distinct functional elements, the logical functions performed by controller 215 may be distributed over several hardware elements. The controller 115 may also include input/output (I/O ports), communication systems, or others. The controller 215 is coupled to the user interface 220 to receive user input and provide user control of the retinal imaging system 200. The user interface 220 may include one or more buttons, dials, feedback displays, indicator lights, and the like.

Image sensor 210 may be implemented using a variety of imaging technologies, such as a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor, a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) image sensor, or others. In one embodiment, image sensor 210 includes an on-board memory buffer or attached memory to store the retinal image.

Alignment tracker 230 operates to track the alignment between retinal imaging system 200 and eye 270. Alignment tracker 230 may operate using a variety of different techniques to track the relative position of eye 270 and retinal imaging system 200, including pupil tracking, retinal tracking, iris tracking, or others. In one embodiment, alignment tracker 230 includes one or more Infrared (IR) emitters to track eye 270 with visible spectrum light while retinal images are acquired with IR light. In such embodiments, an IR filter may be located within the image path to filter the IR tracking light. In other embodiments, the tracking illumination is offset in time from the image acquisition.

During operation, the controller 115 operates the dynamic illuminator 105 and the retinal camera 110 to capture one or more retinal images. The dynamic illuminator 105 is dynamic in that its illumination pattern is not static; but rather dynamically changes under the influence of the controller 215 based on the determined alignment with the eye 270 (discussed in detail below). Illumination light 280 is directed through the pupil of the eye 270 to illuminate the retina 275. The diffuse reflection from the retina 275 is directed along an image path back to the image sensor 210 through an aperture in the central baffle 255. The central baffle 255 operates to block unwanted reflections and light scattering that would otherwise damage the retinal image while passing the image light itself. The illumination pattern output by the dynamic illuminator 205 is selected based on the current alignment to reduce unwanted image artifacts. Image artifacts may result from light scattering due to the human eye lens within the eye 270, reflection from the cornea/iris, or even direct specular reflection of the illumination light 280 from the retina 275. Direct specular reflections from the retina 275 or cornea/iris may produce washed out regions in the retinal image (e.g., image artifacts 105). The dynamic changes in the illumination pattern output from the dynamic illuminator 205 serve to direct these specular reflections off-axis from the image path and thus blocked by the field stop or central baffle 255.

Fig. 3A-D illustrate various views of a dynamic luminaire 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The illustrated embodiment of the dynamic luminaire 300 is one possible implementation of the dynamic luminaire 205 in fig. 2. FIG. 3A is a perspective view, FIG. 3B is a plan view, FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view, and FIG. 3D is a side view of a dynamic illuminator 300. The illustrated embodiment of dynamic illuminator 300 includes a central baffle 305 defining an aperture 310, a first illumination array 315 extending (e.g., radially) outward from opposite sides of aperture 310 and central baffle 305 from each other along a first linear axis 306 (vertical axis in fig. 3B), and a second illumination array 320 extending (e.g., radially) outward from opposite sides of aperture 310 and central baffle 305 from each other along a second linear axis 307 (horizontal axis in fig. 3B). Each illumination array 315 and 320 includes discrete illumination sources 325, each illumination source 325 being surrounded by an illumination baffle 330.

As mentioned, the dynamic illuminator 300 includes an array of illumination sources 325 extending outwardly from the central baffle 305 to provide a source of light for illuminating the retina 275. In the illustrated embodiment, the illumination arrays 315 and 320 extend along substantially orthogonal linear axes 306 and 307, respectively, the linear axes 306 and 307 forming a shape like a plus sign or cross. In the illustrated embodiment, the linear axes 306 and 307 are radial lines that pass substantially through the center of the aperture 310. In one embodiment, the illumination sources 325 within the illumination array 315 are positioned symmetrically about the circular axis 307, while the illumination sources 325 within the illumination array 320 are positioned symmetrically about the circular axis 306. Each illumination array includes two portions extending from opposite sides of the central baffle 305 and aperture 310 from each other. The illumination arrays 315 and 320 include discrete locations where illumination is independently controlled. In other words, the illumination sources 325 may be independently enabled or disabled under the influence of the controller 215 to produce distinct illumination patterns. In one embodiment, the illumination source 325 is implemented as a distinct LED source. In other embodiments, the illumination source 325 may be implemented with techniques and configurations capable of providing distinct locations where illumination light may be independently controlled. For example, each portion of the illumination arrays 315 and 320 may share a common backlight, but have a controllable mask (e.g., an LCD screen) to selectively filter and control the location of the illumination. Other lighting techniques may be used. Further, although each illumination array 315 and 320 is shown to include eight illumination sources 325, implementations may include more or fewer illumination sources 325. In one embodiment, the illumination sources 325 have the following separation pitch and size: l1-6.5 mm, L2-10 mm, L3-13 mm, L4-16 mm, L5-3 mm, and L6-2 mm. Of course, other sizes and separation pitches may be implemented.

In the illustrated embodiment, the central baffle 305 has a conical shape that surrounds the aperture 310 and protrudes from the aperture 310 toward the eyepiece lens 235. The sides of the central baffle 305 overlap a portion of the innermost illumination source 325 immediately adjacent the central baffle 305. This partial overlap causes the central baffle 305 to partially block or cast a shadow, but not block the other illumination sources 325, when backlit by the innermost illumination source 325. The shading serves to substantially separate and isolate the image path from the illumination path, thus reducing cross-talk between these paths and reducing image artifacts in the retinal image. When the innermost illumination source 325 is illuminated, the central baffle 305 blocks illumination ray angles that cause poor image quality due to scattering in the eye lens and reflections from the cornea.

By using an illumination baffle 330 surrounding each illumination source 325, unwanted image artifacts are further isolated and reduced. The illumination baffle 330 serves to limit the emission divergence pattern of the illumination sources 325, and in some embodiments, also limits the effective die size of the illumination sources 325 by covering portions of each illumination source 325. The illumination baffle 330 also reduces the dependence of the illumination path on manufacturing variations/tolerances, particularly between batches or instances of the discrete illumination sources 325, because many LED sources or other types of illumination sources do not produce a precise illumination pattern or collimated light. The illumination baffle 330 may be implemented as a discrete baffle or as part of a unitary shroud or molded component. The molded assembly may include discrete moldings for each half of a given illumination array 315 or 320, or alternatively, the illumination baffle 330 and the central baffle 305 may be fabricated from a single continuous assembly. In the illustrated embodiment, the central baffle 305 has a circular cross-sectional shape (surrounding the central optical axis of the image path through the aperture 310), while the illumination baffle 330 has a rectangular cross-sectional shape. Of course, other cross-sectional shapes may be used to fine-tune the illumination path and the image path. For example, the illumination baffle 330 may also have a circular cross-sectional shape. In one embodiment, the central baffle 305 and the illumination baffle 330 have the following dimensions: d1-13 mm, D2-10.60 mm, L5-3 mm, L6-2 mm, L7-1.5 mm, and L8-5.5 mm. Of course, other sizes may be implemented.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a process 400 for operation of retinal imaging system 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The order in which some or all of the process blocks appear in process 400 should not be considered limiting. Rather, persons of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the present disclosure will appreciate that some of the process blocks may be performed in various orders not shown, or even in parallel.

In a process block 405, the retinal imaging process begins. Initiation may include the user selecting a power button from the user interface 220. In process block 410, the alignment tracker 230 begins tracking and determining the alignment between the retinal camera system 200 and the eye 270. In particular, tracking may be determined as a relative measurement between eyepiece lens 235 and the pupil, iris, or retina of eye 270. Various alignment tracking techniques may be implemented, including pupil tracking, iris tracking, retinal tracking, trial and error, and the like. Alignment tracking is used to determine which of at least two illumination schemes should be used to illuminate the retina 275 during image acquisition. When the relative alignment wanders between the center alignment and the offset alignment, the transition between the lighting schemes may be abrupt or smoothly faded in between.

In decision block 415, if it is determined that the retinal camera system 200 is centered within a defined threshold with the gaze direction 271 (e.g., the optical axis of the eye 270), the process 400 continues to process block 420. In process block 420, the dynamic illuminator 205 is operated by the controller 215 to generate a circular illumination pattern for illuminating the retina 275 through the pupil of the eye 270. Fig. 5A-C illustrate features of a circular illumination pattern. As shown in fig. 5A, the circular illumination pattern simultaneously illuminates the innermost illumination source 501 immediately adjacent the central baffle 305 (or 255) while disabling or not illuminating the remaining outer illumination sources 325 that are not immediately adjacent the central baffle 305. As shown in fig. 5B, illumination path 505 is substantially separated or isolated from image path 510 at the iris, lens, and cornea.

The emission divergence pattern of illumination source 501 is limited and controlled by the shadow cast by central baffle 305 and illumination baffle 330 (process block 425). The central baffle 305 serves to block the portion of the illumination light output from the endoilluminator source 501 that would cause unwanted scattering in the eye 270. As further shown in fig. 5C, illumination path 505 is substantially separated from image path 510 (e.g., physically offset from each other) at regions of eye 270 prone to image artifacts. These regions include the corneal plane, the iris plane and the lens. The central baffle 305 strategically casts an illumination shadow onto the eye structures that reduces crosstalk between the image path 510 and the illumination path 505, thereby reducing image artifacts captured by the image sensor 210. The angle and depth of the central baffle 305 affects the separation of the image path and the illumination path at the cornea, iris and lens. The angle and depth may be selected to achieve a particular separation range.

In process block 430, the retinal image passes through aperture 310 where central baffle 305 further blocks unwanted reflections and other stray refraction before image sensor 210 captures image light 285 forming the retinal image (process block 435).

Returning to decision block 415, if it is determined that the retinal camera system 200 is offset from the gaze direction 271 by a defined threshold, the process 400 continues to process blocks 445 through 455. In process blocks 445-455, the dynamic illuminator 205 is operated by the controller 215 to generate a non-circular illumination pattern (also referred to as a stacked illumination pattern) for illuminating the retina 275 through the pupil of the eye 270. Fig. 6A-C illustrate features of a non-circular illumination pattern in which the offset is in a single direction. As shown in fig. 6A, the non-circular illumination pattern enables a single illumination source 601. If the offset in a single direction is small, the innermost illumination source 601 is illuminated. However, as the offset increases, more and more peripheral illumination sources are illuminated. Fig. 7A shows an example of a non-circular illumination pattern that has illumination sources 701 enabled due to a greater amount of offset alignment in a single direction. Both fig. 6A and 7A are diagrams illustrating an example in which the retinal imaging system 200 is vertically offset below the eye 270. Thus, the particular illumination source selected is on the opposite side of the central baffle 305 from the physical offset alignment of the eye 270 and has an increasing offset from the periphery of the central baffle 305 as the offset alignment increases. Thus, in process block 445, the direction of the offset is determined to identify which side of the dynamic luminaire 200 is to be enabled. In a process block 450, an offset is determined to identify which illumination source 325 (e.g., inside, middle, outside) is to be enabled. Finally, in a process block 455, a non-circular illumination pattern is generated.

Fig. 6B illustrates stacked alignment between the illumination path 605 and the image path 610, the illumination path 605 and the image path 610 being substantially separated from each other at the iris, lens, and cornea. Likewise, when the innermost illumination source (such as illumination source 601) is illuminated, the central baffle 305 strategically casts an illumination shadow onto these ocular structures. This reduces cross-talk between the image path 610 and the illumination path 605, thereby reducing image artifacts captured by the image sensor 210.

Fig. 7B shows an example non-circular illumination pattern when retinal imaging system 200 is offset from gaze direction 271 in two directions. For example, in fig. 7B, gaze direction 271 is shifted downward and to the right, as shown by target 771 in fig. 7B, so illumination sources 702 and 703 above and to the left are illuminated. Because the amount of offset or misalignment is modest, illumination sources 702 and 703 are disposed medially along their respective illumination arrays.

Fig. 8A-C are illustrative thermal maps showing the physical separation between the illumination path and the image path of a circular illumination pattern at various structures of the eye that cause unwanted reflections and scattering. Fig. 8A shows how the illumination light 280 is substantially expelled to the peripheral region of the corneal plane with little or no illumination at the center. Fig. 8B shows how the illumination light 280 is again substantially expelled to the peripheral regions of the iris plane with little or no illumination at the center. The central baffle 305 casts a shadow down the center of the eye 270, thereby creating a central aperture with little or no illumination, while allowing the dynamic illuminator 205 (or 300) to substantially uniformly illuminate the iris 275. Fig. 8C is a heat map showing an example cross-section of illumination light 280 and image light 285 superimposed at the iris. It can be seen that the paths for illumination and for imaging are substantially separated at the iris, which reduces crosstalk due to scattering or reflection. Due to the physical separation between these paths, scattering and/or unwanted reflections that do occur at various ocular structures are easily blocked by the central baffle 305 and aperture 310.

Fig. 9A and 9B illustrate various views of a dynamic luminaire 900 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The illustrated embodiment of the dynamic luminaire 900 is another possible implementation of the dynamic luminaire 205 in fig. 2. Fig. 9A is a plan view and fig. 9B is a perspective view of the dynamic illuminator 900. The illustrated embodiment of the dynamic illuminator 900 includes a central baffle 905 defining an aperture 310, a first illumination array 915 extending (e.g., radially) outward from opposite sides of the aperture 310 and the central baffle 905 from each other along a first linear axis 306 (vertical axis in fig. 9A), a second illumination array 920 extending (e.g., radially) outward from opposite sides of the aperture 310 and the central baffle 905 from each other along a second linear axis 307 (horizontal axis in fig. 9A), and a third illumination array 922 extending (e.g., radially) outward from opposite sides of the aperture 310 and the central baffle 905 from each other along a third linear axis 907 (diagonal axis in fig. 9A). The illustrated embodiment of the central baffle 905 includes cylindrical shield walls 910 and 912. Each illumination array 915, 920, and 922 includes discrete illumination sources 325, each illumination source 325 surrounded by an illumination baffle 930.

The lighting arrays 915, 920, and 922 operate in a similar manner as discussed above in connection with lighting arrays 315 and 320, except that optional additional diagonal lighting array 922 provides additional lighting flexibility. The illustrated embodiment of each illumination array 915, 920, and 922 includes ten discrete illumination sources 325, as compared to eight discrete illumination sources 325 for each illumination array 315 and 320. While the number of discrete illumination sources 325 per illumination array can be adjusted, two additional discrete illumination sources 325 provide finer granularity control over the illumination pattern.

The central baffle 905 also operates in a similar functional manner as the central baffle 305; however, in contrast to the single conical central baffle 305, the central baffle 905 uses two cylindrical shield walls 910 and 912 to precisely limit the emission divergence pattern (and strategically cast the shadow onto the eye 270). The straight cylindrical shape of shroud walls 910 and 912 is simpler to manufacture than the angled conical shape of central baffle 305. As shown, the outer cylindrical shield wall 912 surrounds the inner cylindrical shield wall 910. Both cylindrical shield walls 910 and 912 extend from the plane of aperture 310; however, the inner cylindrical shield wall 910 extends to a greater height than the outer cylindrical shield wall 912. Further, the innermost discrete illumination sources 325 of each illumination array 915, 920, and 922 (i.e., the two innermost discrete illumination sources from each illumination array disposed on either side of the aperture 310 and immediately adjacent to the aperture 310) are disposed radially between the inner cylindrical shield wall 910 and the outer cylindrical shield wall 912. The remaining discrete illumination sources 325 are all disposed radially outward of the cylindrical shroud wall 912. The intermediate location of the inner discrete illumination sources 325 enables the cylindrical shroud walls 910 and 912 to limit the inner and outer edges of the illumination path (i.e., the emission divergence pattern) output from the inner discrete illumination sources 325. Correspondingly, the height of the cylindrical shield walls 910 and 912 is also selected to control the inner edge of the illumination path output from the second inner ring of discrete illumination sources 325 (i.e., discrete illumination sources 325 radially outside of the cylindrical shield wall 912 but immediately adjacent to the cylindrical shield wall 912).

Fig. 10A and 10B illustrate how the central baffle 905 limits the two sides of emission divergence of illumination light emitted from the innermost discrete illumination source according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 10B is a close-up of the portion of fig. 10A, where illumination paths 1005 and 1010 are incident on the cornea of eye 270. As shown, illumination paths 1005 and 1010 are bounded by cylindrical shield walls 910 and 912 to reduce unwanted reflections at the cornea and lens. Specifically, illumination paths 1005 and 1010 are limited to ensure that shadow 1001 is cast in the center of the corneal plane.

Fig. 11A and 11B illustrate how the central baffle 905 limits the inner side of emission divergence of illumination light emitted from the discrete illumination sources of the second inner ring according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 11B is a close-up of the portion of fig. 11A, where illumination paths 1005, 1010, and 1105 are incident on the cornea of the eye 270. As shown, the illumination path 1105 is bounded inboard (e.g., in the middle) by the top edges of the cylindrical shroud walls 910 and 912. The illumination path 1105 is an emission divergence path of light output from the second inner ring of discrete illumination sources 325 (i.e., the discrete illumination sources radially outward of the cylindrical shroud wall 912 and immediately adjacent the cylindrical shroud wall 912). Specifically, the inner side of the illumination path 1105 is limited to also ensure that the shadow 1001 is projected in the center of the corneal plane. The shadow 1001 reduces unwanted reflections at the cornea and lens. It will also be appreciated that the eyepiece lens 235 is fully illuminated, thus providing improved imaging and illumination.

The above process is described in terms of computer software and hardware. The described techniques may constitute machine-executable instructions embodied within a tangible or non-transitory machine (e.g., computer) readable storage medium, that when executed by a machine will cause the machine to perform the described operations. In addition, the processes may be embodied within hardware such as an application specific integrated circuit ("ASIC") or otherwise.

A tangible machine-readable storage medium includes any mechanism that provides (i.e., stores) information in a non-transitory form accessible by a machine (e.g., a computer, network device, personal digital assistant, manufacturing tool, device having a set of one or more processors, etc.). For example, a machine-readable storage medium includes recordable/non-recordable media (e.g., Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, etc.).

The above description of illustrated embodiments of the invention, including what is described in the abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize.

These modifications can be made to the invention in light of the above detailed description. The terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be determined entirely by the following claims, which are to be construed in accordance with established doctrines of claim interpretation.