Focused Delivery of Laser Energy to the Eye Using Adaptive Optics

Characterization of the mechanisms of retinal damage from ultrashort pulsed lasers requires measurement and correction of ocular aberrations because many prevalent non-linear optical effects dominate this regime. Physical Sciences Inc. proposes to construct an adaptive optics system to deliver aberration-corrected laser pulses to the eye. In Phase I, a wavefront sensor will be designed and constructed for high-speed measurement of aberrations in artificial and live human eyes. A novel compact line-scanning laser ophthalmoscope (LSLO) will be added to the wavefront sensor for wide field, high contrast retinal imaging. In Phase II, a wavefront compensation mirror will be added and dynamic closed-loop correction of aberrations will be achieved. In addition, the imaging component will be altered for simultaneous acquisition of high-resolution retinal images. The complete system will be a valuable tool for investigation and direct in vivo imaging of laser pulse damage.