Carl Zeiss Gmbh

Carl-zeiss-stiftung

Thomas Hellmuth

Jay Wei

Christopher L Petersen

Charles E Campbell

Peter Schaffer

Peter Seidel

Ophthalmologic surgical microscope which is combined internally with an optical coherence tomography ('OCT') apparatus wherein auto-focusing is provided by driving a motorized internal focusing lens of the ophthalmologic surgical microscope with a signal output from the OCT apparatus. An embodiment of the inventive ophthalmologic surgical microscope includes: (a) an optical coherence tomography ('OCT') apparatus; (b) a beamcombiner for internally coupling output from the OCT apparatus into the ophthalmologic surgical microscope; and (c) a motor for moving an internal focusing lens of the ophthalmologic surgical microscope in response to a signal from the OCT apparatus, whereby the ophthalmologic surgical microscope is auto-focused.

Optical coherence tomography assisted surgical apparatus

Phase-contrasting elements are arranged in the viewing beam paths of a stereomicroscope to make transparent media visible with rich contrast such as in the area of ophthalmologic surgery. The phase-contrasting elements make the transparent media visible as phase objects in the amplitude contrast. The phase-contrasting elements are selected in dependence upon the light source diaphragm which is used.

Stereomicroscope for making transparent media visible and method therefor

Apparatus for measuring the speed of blood in blood vessels in biological samples, for example, in retinal blood vessels, which apparatus includes: (a) a source of a beam of radiation having a principal wavelength, which radiation is substantially spatially coherent and has a temporal coherence length which is less than 1 picosecond; (b) a beam splitter for splitting the beam into a sample beam and reference beam; (c) optical apparatus for directing the sample beam to an area within the biological sample; (d) a reflector for reflecting the reference beam; (e) a detector for detecting an interference between the sample beam reflected from the area and the reflected reference beam and for generating an interference signal; (f) apparatus for altering an optical path length of the reference beam from the beam splitter to the detector at an alteration velocity; and (g) an analyzer for analyzing the interference signal to determine the speed of the blood in the area from a shift of a central frequency of a frequency spectrum of the interference signal from a frequency determined from the alteration velocity and the principal wavelength.

Short coherence length, doppler velocimetry system

Apparatus for illuminating the fundus of an eye with a scanned sample beam of radiation, the scanned sample beam emerging from a beam scanner which is exposed to a sample beam, which apparatus is for use in optical coherence tomography. An embodiment of the apparatus includes: (a) scanner lens and a beamsplitter for transferring radiation from the scanned sample beam, including chief rays of the sample beam which emerge from a point of final deflection of the beam scanner, and (b) a lens for focusing the transferred radiation so that the scanned sample beam is focused onto the fundus by the eye. In accordance with the invention the scanner lens is fixed with respect to the beam scanner so that the point of final deflection is located substantially in the back focal plane of the scanner lens and the scanner lens is movable.

Method and apparatus for optical coherence tomographic fundus imaging

Apparatus for illuminating the fundus of an eye with a scanned sample beam of radiation. An embodiment of the present invention is an optical system which includes three, separated radiation path systems--a tilted illumination path system, a decentered observation path system, and an optical path system--which are combined by a beamsplitter into an ocular lens. In accordance with the present invention, an illuminating path provided by the illumination path system and an optical beam path provided by the optical beam path system are obliquely oriented with respect to the optical axis of the ocular lens.

Fundus illumination apparatus formed from three, separated radiation

Optical coherence tomography assisted ophthalmologic surgical microscope

Optical coherence tomography ('OCT') corneal mapping apparatus includes an OCT apparatus having a rotating helical mirror for altering a reference beam path in the OCT apparatus; a raster scanner for raster scanning sampling optical output from the OCT apparatus; a curved mirror for transferring the sampling optical output from the raster scanner to an eye and for transferring sampling optical output reflected from the eye back to the OCT apparatus through the raster scanner; and an analyzer, coupled to the raster scanner, the rotating helical mirror, and reference and sampling interaction output from the OCT apparatus. The analyzer causes the raster scanner to scan the sampling optical output to points in a raster; causes the rotating mirror to alter the length of the reference beam path over a predetermined amount at each of the points in the raster; and provides the corneal mapping from the reference and sampling interaction output at the points in the raster.

Optical coherence tomography corneal mapping apparatus

Method and apparatus for measuring the following lens characteristics: (a) curvature of the front and back surfaces of the lens; (b) physical thickness; and (c) index of refraction of the lens to determine the front vertex power, back vertex power; and the lens material. In particular, an embodiment of one aspect of the present invention for measuring the index of refraction of the glass includes: (a) a source of a substantially spatially coherent beam of radiation and having a short temporal coherence length; (b) a beamsplitter to provide a sample beam and a reference beam in response to the beam; (c) a translatable retroreflector which reflects the reference beam; (d) a holder to hold the material in the path of the sample beam, the holder including a retroreflector which reflects the sample beam back through the material and a caliper apparatus to measure the thickness of the material where the sample beam passes through; (e) a detector which detects the reflected reference beam and the reflected sample beam to produce a detector output signal; and (f) an analyzer which determines a position of the translatable retroreflector in response to the detector output signal and which determines the index of refraction of the material in response to the position of the translatable reflector means and the thickness of the material.

Growing community of inventors

Danville, CA, United States of America

Thomas Hellmuth