Abstract

Off-axis detection methods in adaptive optics (AO) ophthalmoscopy can enhance image contrast of translucent retinal structures such as cone inner segments and retinal ganglion cells. Here, we propose a 2D optical model showing that the phase contrast produced by these methods depends on the offset orientation. While one axis provides an asymmetric light distribution, hence high phase contrast, the perpendicular axis provides a symmetric one, thus substantially lower contrast. We support this model with in vivo human data acquired with a multi-offset AO scanning light ophthalmoscope. Then, using this finding, we provide a post-processing method, named spatial-frequency-based image reconstruction, to optimally combine images from different off-axis detector orientations, significantly increasing the structural cellular contrast of in vivo human retinal neurons such as cone inner segment, putative rods, and retinal ganglion cells.

© 2021 Optical Society of America

Multimodal high-resolution retinal imaging using a camera-based DMD-integrated adaptive optics flood-illumination ophthalmoscope

Léa Krafft, Pierre Senée, Elena Gofas, Olivier Thouvenin, Michael Atlan, Michel Paques, Serge Meimon, and Pedro Mecê
Opt. Lett. 48(14) 3785-3788 (2023)

Origin of cell contrast in offset aperture adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy

A. Guevara-Torres, D. R. Williams, and J. B. Schallek
Opt. Lett. 45(4) 840-843 (2020)

Design of a radial multi-offset detection pattern for in vivo phase contrast imaging of the inner retina in humans

Elena Gofas-Salas, Yuhua Rui, Pedro Mecê, Min Zhang, Valerie C. Snyder, Kari V. Vienola, Daniel M. W. Lee, José-Alain Sahel, Kate Grieve, and Ethan A. Rossi
Biomed. Opt. Express 13(1) 117-132 (2022)

In vivo measurement of the lineal density of red blood cells in human retinal capillaries using high-speed adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy

Boyu Gu, David Sarraf, Michael Ip, Srinivas R. Sadda, and Yuhua Zhang
Opt. Lett. 46(14) 3392-3395 (2021)

High-speed, phase contrast retinal and blood flow imaging using an adaptive optics partially confocal multi-line ophthalmoscope

Soohyun Lee, Stacey S. Choi, Ratheesh K. Meleppat, Robert J. Zawadzki, and Nathan Doble
Biomed. Opt. Express 15(3) 1815-1830 (2024)