Purpose To demonstrate the versatility and performance of a compact Bayer filter snapshot hyperspectral fundus camera for in-vivo clinical applications including retinal oximetry and macular pigment optical density measurements. Methods 12 healthy volunteers were recruited under an Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved protocol. Fundus images were taken with a custom hyperspectral camera with a spectral range of 460–630 nm. We determined retinal vascular oxygen saturation (sO2) for the healthy population using the captured spectra by least squares curve fitting. Additionally, macular pigment optical density was localized and visualized using multispectral reflectometry from selected wavelengths. Results We successfully determined the mean sO2 of arteries and veins of each subject (ages 21–80) with excellent intrasubject repeatability (1.4% standard deviation). The mean arterial sO2 for all subjects was 90.9% ± 2.5%, whereas the mean venous sO2 for all subjects was 64.5% ± 3.5%. The mean artery–vein (A–V) difference in sO2 varied between 20.5% and 31.9%. In addition, we were able to reveal and quantify macular pigment optical density. Conclusions We demonstrated a single imaging tool capable of oxygen saturation and macular pigment density measurements in vivo. The unique combination of broad spectral range, high spectral–spatial resolution, rapid and robust imaging capability, and compact design make this system a valuable tool for multifunction spectral imaging that can be easily performed in a clinic setting.

Hyperspectral retinal imaging captures the light spectrum from each imaging pixel. It provides spectrally encoded retinal physiological and morphological information, which could potentially benefit diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of retinal diseases. The key challenges in hyperspectral retinal imaging are how to achieve snapshot imaging to avoid motions between the images from multiple spectral bands, and how to design a compact snapshot imager suitable for clinical use. Here, we developed a compact, snapshot hyperspectral fundus camera for rodents using a novel spectral resolving detector array (SRDA), on which a thin-film Fabry–Perot cavity filter was monolithically fabricated on each imaging pixel. We achieved hyperspectral retinal imaging with 16 wavelength bands (460 to 630 nm) at 20 fps. We also demonstrated false-color vessel contrast enhancement and retinal oxygen saturation (sO2) measurement through spectral analysis. This work could potentially bring hyperspectral retinal imaging from bench to bedside.

The Cobra fiber positioner is being developed by the California Institute of Technology (CIT) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) instrument that will be installed at the Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. PFS is a fiber fed multi-object spectrometer that uses an array of Cobra fiber positioners to rapidly reconfigure 2394 optical fibers at the prime focus of the Subaru Telescope that are capable of positioning a fiber to within 5µm of a specified target location. A single Cobra fiber positioner measures 7. 7mm in diameter and is l 15mm tall. The Cobra fiber positioner uses two piezo-electric rotary motors to move a fiber optic anywhere in a 9.5mm diameter patrol area. In preparation for full-scale production of 2550 Cobra positioners an Engineering Model (EM) version was developed, built and tested to validate the design, reduce manufacturing costs, and improve system reliability. The EM leveraged the previously developed prototype versions of the Cobra fiber positioner. The requirements, design, assembly techniques, development testing, design qualification and performance evaluation of EM Cobra fiber positioners are described here. Also discussed is the use of the EM build and test campaign to validate the plans for full-scale production of2550 Cobra fiber positioners schedul ed to begin in late-2014.

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PurposeWe investigated the autofluorescence (AF) signature of the microscopic features of retina with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) using 488 nm excitation.MethodsThe globes of four donors with AMD and four age-matched controls were embedded in paraffin and sectioned through the macula. Sections were excited using a 488 nm argon laser, and the AF emission was captured using a laser scanning confocal microscope (496–610 nm, 6 nm resolution). The data cubes were then analyzed to compare peak emission spectra between the AMD and the controls. Microscopic features, including individual lipofuscin and melanolipofuscin granules, Bruch’s Membrane, as well macroscopic features, were considered.ResultsOverall, the AMD eyes showed a trend of blue-shifted emission peaks compared with the controls. These differences were statistically significant when considering the emission of the combined RPE/Bruch’s Membrane across all the tissue cross-sections (p = 0.02).ConclusionsThe AF signatures of ex vivo AMD RPE/BrM show blue-shifted emission spectra (488 nm excitation) compared with the control tissue. The magnitude of these differences is small (~4 nm) and highlights the potential challenges of detecting these subtle spectral differences in vivo.