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

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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.