High-resolution adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope with dual-deformable mirrors for large aberration correction

Abstract

Scanning laser ophthalmoscopes with adaptive optics (AOSLO) have been shown previously to provide a noninvasive, cellular-scale view of the living human retina. However, the clinical utility of these systems has been limited by the available deformable mirror technology. In this paper, we demonstrate that the use of dual deformable mirrors can effectively compensate large aberrations in the human retina, making the AOSLO system a viable, non-invasive, high-resolution imaging tool for clinical diagnostics. We used a bimorph deformable mirror to correct low-order aberrations with relatively large amplitudes. The bimorph mirror is manufactured by Aoptix, Inc. with 37 elements and 18 &mgr;m stroke in a 10 mm aperture. We used a MEMS deformable mirror to correct high-order aberrations with lower amplitudes. The MEMS mirror is manufactured by Boston Micromachine, Inc with 144 elements and 1.5 &mgr;m stroke in a 3 mm aperture. We have achieved near diffraction-limited retina images using the dual deformable mirrors to correct large aberrations up to ±3D of defocus and ±3D of cylindrical aberrations with test subjects. This increases the range of spectacle corrections by the AO systems by a factor of 10, which is crucial for use in the clinical environment. This ability for large phase compensation can eliminate accurate refractive error fitting for the patients, which greatly improves the system ease of use and efficiency in the clinical environment.