Wide-field Imaging Module for In Vivo Confocal Microscope Imaging of Cornea
Applied Technology- Grade:
- 12
- Teacher:
- Rick Smith
In vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) is used to improve cornea fungal infection diagnosis. It is a non-invasive, rapid optical imaging technique that can provide information on various tissue layers. However, current technology can be improved to be faster and cheaper while maintaining comparable image qualities. The TOI (Translational Optical Imaging) Lab aims to do this. In the TOI Lab, the microscope can image small regions of the eye that are less than 1mm, but the lab would like to track where the image falls on the eye. However, because the tracking camera lies behind the objective lens, the objective lens focuses the camera to a specific point of the eye. Camera lenses that counteract the objective lens must be developed to image the whole eye. This project focused on understanding the focal length and optimal imaging distance of the objective lens to understand the limitation of the objective lens and aid later camera lens development. An apparatus was designed to capture images of different distance combinations between the camera lens, objective lens, and image. The images from multiple cameras were compared for suitable size and quality. Utilizing the information found here an optimal camera lens system is chosen. This project’s goal is to image the whole iris through a camera behind an objective lens using a series of lenses to adjust the direction of the rays to help locate the position of corneal ulcers. This research strives to aid the advancement of eye disease diagnosis technology and expand the reach of such technology to underdeveloped regions of the world.