Wavefront sensor and high voltage multi-channel (>100) driver for adaptive optics based ophthalmoscopic imaging

申请的目的是获得资金，购买波前传感器和多通道高压驱动器，以支持“基于可变形微镜的自适应光学(AO)眼底成像技术”的研究。眼病的早期诊断和治疗依赖于高分辨率的视网膜图像。目前的检眼镜成像技术，如眼底相机、扫描激光检眼镜(SLO)和光学相干断层扫描(OCT)检眼镜可以提供活体视网膜的宏观图像，但由于角膜表面和晶状体引起的眼睛像差，它们不具备在单细胞空间尺度上揭示视网膜特征所需的横向分辨率。基于可变形微镜的自适应光学系统是矫正这些像差的关键，从而将视网膜成像系统的分辨率从目前的5~10微米提高到2~3微米。一种用于视觉科学的基于可变形微镜的光学像差校正模块，包括测量光学像差的波前传感器、控制器、由多通道高压驱动器驱动的用于校正像差的可变形微镜。可变形微镜声光系统的关键部件是大行程离面微致动器。这种致动器的阵列形成了可变形微镜。申请者课题组已成功开发出一种新型大行程微型静电执行器。集成了10×10这种大行程驱动器的可变形微镜的设计已经完成，并已送往制造。目前，申请课题组正在着手将可变形微镜与波前传感器和多通道高压驱动器进行集成。因此，迫切需要波前传感器和多通道高压驱动器来继续这一多年的项目，并开发用于检眼镜成像的微镜声光模块。这种技术的成功开发将大大改善青光眼等眼病的早期诊断和治疗。青光眼是加拿大第二大最常见的失明原因，目前影响着30万加拿大人。

The application is to acquire funds to purchase a wavefront sensor and a multi-channel high voltage driver to support the research on "Deformable Micromirror Based Adaptive Optics (AO) Technology for Ophthalmoscopic Imaging". Early diagnosis and treatment of eye disease rely on high resolution retinal images. The current ophthalmoscopic imaging technology such as fundus cameras, the scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) and the optical coherence tomography (OCT) ophthalmoscope can provide a macroscopic view of the living retina, but they do not have the transverse resolution needed to reveal retinal features on the spatial scale of single cells due to ocular aberrations caused by corneal surfaces and crystalline lenses. Deformable micromirror based Adaptive Optics (AO) is key to correcting these ocular aberrations, and thus improve the resolution of retinal imagining systems from the current 5~10 micrometers to 2~3 micrometers. A deformable micromirror based AO module able to correct ocular aberrations for vision science consists of a wavefront sensor to measure optical aberrations, a controller, a deformable micromirror driven by a multi-channel high voltage driver for correcting aberrations. The critical component of the deformable micromirror AO system is a large stroke out-of-plane micro actuator. An array of such actuators form the deformable micromirror. The applicants research groups have successfully developed a novel large stroke micro electrostatic actuator. The design of the deformable micromirror integrating 10x10 such large stroke actuators has been completed and sent for fabrication. Presently the applicants research groups are starting the integration of the deformable micromirror with the wavefront sensor and the multi-channel high voltage driver. The wavefront sensor and multi-channel high voltage driver are thus urgently needed to continue this multi-year project and to develop the micromirror AO module for ophthalmoscopic imaging. The successful development of such technology will significantly improve early diagnosis and treatment of eye disease such as glaucoma, which is the second most common cause of blindness in Canada and is affecting 300,000 Canadians.