Apparatus and method for operating a real time large diopter range sequential wavefront sensor

• US 9,050,026 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2013
• Issued: 06/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Clarity Medical Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Clarity Medical Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Zhou, Yan, Chew, Bradford, Shea, William
• Primary Examiner(s): MAI, HUY KIM
• Application Number:
  US14/074,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20140063459A1
• Time in Patent Office: 579 Days
• Field of Search: 351/205, 351/209, 351/210, 351/212, 351/246, 351/207
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/0025 characterised by electronic signal processing, e.g. eye models
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/1015 for wavefront analysis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/102 for optical coherence tomography [OCT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/1035 for measuring astigmatism testing astigmatism A61B3/036
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/112 for measuring diameter of pupils
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/113 for determining or recording eye movement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/132 in binocular arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/14 Arrangements specially adapted for eye photography apparatus or arrangements for taking photographs per se G03B
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/152 for aligning
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2009/00848 based on wavefront
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0414 using plane or convex mirrors, parallel phase plates, or plane beam-splitters
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0437 using masks, aperture plates, spatial light modulators, spatial filters, e.g. reflective filters
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 2003/064 Use of other elements for scan, e.g. mirror, fixed grating
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 9/00 Measuring optical phase difference devices or arrangements for controlling the phase of light beams G02F1/01; Determining degree of coherence; Measuring optical wavelength spectrometry G01J3/00

Abstract

An apparatus including a wavefront sensor including a light source configured to illuminate a subject eye, a detector, an image sensor configured to output an image of the subject eye, a first beam deflecting element configured to intercept a wavefront beam returned from a subject eye when the subject eye is illuminated by the light source and configured to direct a portion of the wavefront from the subject eye through an aperture toward the detector and a controller, coupled to the light source, the image sensor and the beam deflecting element, configured to process the image to determine transverse movement of the subject eye and to control the beam deflecting element to deflect and project through the aperture portions of an annular ring portion of the wavefront and further configured to pulse the light source at a firing rate to sample selected portions of the annular ring at the detector, to process the image of the subject eye to calculate transverse movement of the subject eye and to orient the beam deflecting element at a DC offset angle to compensate transverse movement of the subject eye.

Claims

1. A wavefront sensor comprising:

a light source configured to illuminate a subject eye;

a detector;

an image sensor configured to output an image of the subject eye;

a first beam deflecting element configured to intercept a wavefront beam returned from a subject eye when the subject eye is illuminated by the light source and configured to direct a portion of the wavefront from the subject eye through an aperture toward the detector; and

a controller, coupled to the light source, the image sensor and the beam deflecting element, configured to process the image to determine transverse movement of the subject eye and to control the beam deflecting element to deflect and project through the aperture portions of an annular ring portion of the wavefront and further configured to pulse the light source at a firing rate to sample selected portions of the annular ring at the detector, to process the image of the subject eye to calculate transverse movement of the subject eye and to orient the beam deflecting element at a DC offset angle to compensate transverse movement of the subject eye.

2. The wavefront sensor of claim 1 with the controller further configured to increase the pulsing rate to increase sampling density of the annular ring portion.

3. The wavefront sensor of claim 1 with the controller further configured to phase-shift the firing time to angularly shift locations of the portions sampled by the detector.

4. The wavefront sensor of claim 1 with the controller configured to control the beam deflecting element to change the radius of the sampled annular ring portion of the wavefront so that a set of annular rings of different radii are sampled by the detector.

5. The wavefront sensor of claim 1 with the controller configured to control the beam deflecting element to limit radius size according to the diameter of the pupil of the subject eye.

6. The wavefront sensor of claim 1 with the controller configured to control the beam deflecting element to deflect and project the wavefront beam through the aperture portions of a spiral portion of the wavefront, to the detector.

7. The wavefront sensor of claim 1 where the beam deflecting element is a micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) reflector.

8. The wavefront sensor of claim 1 where the beam deflecting element is a rotatable reflecting element.