EAGER: Ultra Low Light Level Imaging for Ophthalmological Applications

EAGER：用于眼科应用的超低光级成像

• 批准号: 2137320
• 负责人: Armand Tanguay,Jr.
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: University of Southern California
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2137320&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Ultra; Low; Light; Level

The current use of chemical mydriasis (chemical dilation of the pupil) in eye/ophthalmological examinations requires significant time for both pupil dilation and recovery following pupil dilation, often subjecting the patient's eye to high levels of illumination during both the examination and recovery. The time requirement alone limits the availability and frequency of full ophthalmological examinations worldwide, particularly in regions without access to ophthalmological clinics. The goal of this research program is to explore whether it is possible to perform eye examinations under low enough light conditions to allow for natural dilation of the pupil without the need for chemical dilation. The research program will explore the development of ultra low light level imaging systems that can provide high quality images of the inner regions of the eye, including the retina, in a clinic with the lights dimmed. Reducing the time required for each ophthalmological examination would increase their availability and therefore enable both earlier diagnoses and treatment of diseases worldwide. Other applications of the ultra low light level imaging system developed could allow for eye surgeries to proceed with much lower intensity illumination incident on the retina, thereby minimizing post-surgical complications and enhancing chronic toleration, and be implemented in other optical imaging applications, e.g., intracellular imaging, that produce very low intensity scattering. The goal of this research program is to investigate the possibility of performing ophthalmological examinations under low light level conditions that would allow for natural pupil dilation without the need for chemical mydriasis. To this end, the research program will be focused on establishing the fundamental and technological limitations that impact the development of ultra low light level imaging systems for ophthalmological examinations and analyzing advanced techniques to circumvent current technological limits. Ultra low light level imaging devices implemented in the form of a direct ophthalmoscope, a wide field direct ophthalmoscope, and a slit lamp would enable ophthalmological examinations to be performed with only natural dilation of the pupil. This research program will involve three key aspects: (1) establishment of the fundamental limitations that affect ultra low light level ophthalmological examinations, starting at the quantum level as it impacts the signal to noise ratio achievable at low photon counts per pixel per frame, and including the wavelength dependence of the reflectivity of both normal and abnormal regions of the anterior and posterior segments, especially including the retina, (2) design and assessment of technological implementations of ultra low light level imaging systems, including both theoretical analysis and experimental prototypes, with the goal of establishing current technological limitations that impact performance, and (3) investigation of novel technical approaches that can advance the state of the art of ultra low light level imaging systems toward the boundaries established by fundamental limitations, thereby enabling the development of next generation ophthalmological devices and procedures. Successful development of ultra low light level imaging systems will in turn enable a significant increase in the availability and frequency of full ophthalmological examinations under field conditions, thereby providing earlier detection and treatment of adverse eye conditions to a greatly expanded population.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

目前在眼睛/眼科检查中使用的化学散瞳（瞳孔的化学扩张）需要大量的时间用于瞳孔扩张和瞳孔扩张后的恢复，通常在检查和恢复期间使患者的眼睛受到高水平的照明。 仅时间要求就限制了全世界全面眼科检查的可用性和频率，特别是在没有眼科诊所的地区。这项研究计划的目标是探索是否有可能在足够低的光照条件下进行眼科检查，以允许瞳孔自然扩张，而无需化学扩张。 该研究计划将探索超低亮度成像系统的开发，该系统可以在光线变暗的诊所中提供包括视网膜在内的眼睛内部区域的高质量图像。 减少每次眼科检查所需的时间将增加其可用性，从而使世界各地的疾病得到早期诊断和治疗。 所开发的超低光级成像系统的其他应用可以允许眼睛手术以入射在视网膜上的低得多的强度照明进行，从而最小化手术后并发症并增强慢性耐受性，并且可以在其他光学成像应用中实现，例如，细胞内成像，其产生非常低强度的散射。 该研究计划的目标是调查在低照度条件下进行眼科检查的可能性，从而允许自然瞳孔扩大，而不需要化学性散瞳。 为此，该研究计划将专注于确定影响眼科检查用超低亮度成像系统发展的基本和技术限制，并分析先进技术以规避当前的技术限制。 以直接检眼镜、宽视场直接检眼镜和裂隙灯的形式实现的超低光级成像设备将使得能够仅利用瞳孔的自然扩张来执行眼科检查。 这项研究计划将涉及三个关键方面：（1）建立影响超低光水平眼科检查的基本限制，从量子水平开始，因为它影响在每帧每像素的低光子计数下可实现的信噪比，并且包括前段和后段的正常和异常区域的反射率的波长依赖性，特别是包括视网膜，（2）超低亮度成像系统的技术实现的设计和评估，包括理论分析和实验原型，目的是建立影响性能的当前技术限制，以及（3）研究新的技术方法，其可以将超低亮度级成像系统的现有技术推向由基本限制建立的边界，从而能够开发下一代眼科设备和程序。 超低亮度成像系统的成功开发反过来又将使在野外条件下进行全面眼科检查的可用性和频率显著增加，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过利用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响进行评估，被认为值得支持审查标准。