Careful observation of the human ocular fundus is an important part of most routine physical examinations, primarily because it affords a better view of vascular and neural tissue than any other site in the body. Ophthalmoscopic examination thus often reveals systemic as well as ocular pathologies. However, many of the fine structures of the fundus are not visible because of movement of the patient's eye, blurring of the image by diffraction and aberrations, and the lack of contrast of many features of interest. Thus, while it is easy to produce an image with high magnification, such magnification by itself does not permit the visualization of such important fundus features as the capillary bed and nerve fiber bundle defects. The long-term objective of the proposed work is to develop an instrument to be sold at a reasonable price, using a specially designed optical system, a computer, and a set of digital image processing procedures, that provides a high-resolution television image of the ocular fundus, permitting visualization and quantification of blood flow through the capillary bed, details of the vessel walls, fiber bundle defects, and similar features that cannot now be seen in the living eye.
