STTR Phase I: Low-cost light source development for functional retinal imaging

这个小型企业技术转移(STTR)第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种创新的、低成本的光源，用于先进的视网膜成像设备，能够早期诊断和监测失明疾病。致盲疾病，包括糖尿病视网膜病变和黄斑变性，影响着全世界5亿人。这项拟议的技术旨在提供一种新型的非侵入性成像仪器，可以快速可靠地评估视网膜健康，使眼睛护理专家能够更好地治疗和管理失明疾病。对于眼科医生来说，拟议的工具应该能够提供更好的护理并改善结果。对于患者，它应该提供一种非侵入性的、负担得起的测试，从而导致更早的诊断。对于支付者来说，它应该通过减少与失明相关的护理成本和减少不必要或无效的治疗来降低医疗支出。建议的项目是开发一种适用于我们的成像仪器的低成本光源，该仪器使用一种称为光学相干层析成像(OCT)的成像类型。为了实现这种行业领先仪器的商业化生产，需要设计一种新的低成本光源，提供与现有激光器相同类型的光，但成本只有它的一小部分。为了实现这一光源，本项目将首先设计和制作一种等离子体结构耦合器，将低成本LED发出的非空间相干可见光转换为宽带空间相干可见光。同时，将对光的空间相干性进行实验表征，以进行检验和优化。通过优化光源，将光输出耦合到可见光光学相干层析成像系统中进行成像。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to develop an innovative, low-cost light source for an advanced retinal imaging device capable of early diagnosis and monitoring of blinding diseases. Blinding diseases, including diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration and affect 500 million people worldwide. The proposed technology is aimed at providing a novel non-invasive imaging instrument that can rapidly and reliably assesses retinal health, empowering eye care specialists to better treat and manage blinding diseases. For ophthalmologists, the proposed tool should enable better care and improves outcomes. For patients, it should provide a non-invasive, affordable test, resulting in earlier diagnosis. For payers, it should lower healthcare expenditures by reducing cost of care associated with blindness and by reducing unnecessary or ineffective treatments. The proposed project is to develop a low-cost light source that is suitable for our imaging instrument, which utilize a type of imaging known as optical coherence tomography (OCT). In order to enable commercial production of this industry leading instrument, a new low cost light source needs to be engineered that provides the same type of light as existing lasers, but at a fraction of the cost. To realize the light source, this project will first design and fabricate a plasmonic structural coupler that converts a non-spatial coherent visible light emitted from a low cost LED into a broadband spatial coherent visible light. Meanwhile, the light spatial coherence will be characterized experimentally for examination and optimization. With optimized light sources, the light output will be coupled into visible light optical coherence tomography system for imaging.