Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)

Optical Coherence Tomography is the light-equivalent to SONAR, sending signals to, then reflecting off of surfaces in order to measure depths of individual layers. Those collective signal measurements form an image of the retinal layers, where eye diseases quietly lurk, and can be accurately detected. Although OCT has been available for over 30 years, it remains an expensive technology to manufacture and operate. The use of high-quality optics, precision components and complex software have put this technology out of reach for most healthcare providers worldwide.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is the optical analogue of ultrasound, using light reflections from different depths within a sample to generate high-resolution cross-sectional images. A Michelson interferometer splits light into a reference arm and a sample arm using a beam splitter. Light reflected from various layers within the sample is recombined with the reference beam at the splitter and directed to the spectrometer. Inside the spectrometer, the light is collimated, dispersed into its wavelength components by a diffraction grating, and focused onto a line scan array. The resulting electronic signals are processed by a computer. The recorded intensity spectrum captures interference between the sample and reference light beams, where differences in optical path length appear as interference fringes. The frequency of these fringes corresponds to the depth differences within the sample.

Based on a breakthrough achieved by Dr. Adam Wax and his team at Duke University’s BIOS Lab, a patent-pending, low-cost, light-weight system has been devised that will revolutionize eye disease detection. Soon, more patients around the world will be able to have their retinas checked thanks to an affordable, portable OCT instrument. The Lumedica system is small, powerful and simple, it can be deployed as a stand-alone screening instrument, integrated with an Artificial-Intelligence data diagnostic, or as the front line of an eye care network.