The objective of this research is to create a clinical prototype of a new optical coherence tomography (OCT) system for use in point of care settings. The target system price will be one third the price of currently available research OCT system while providing system performance comparable to other entry level OCT imaging systems. By breaking the $10,000 system barrier we will provide an incisive tool that will be disruptive to the market by making OCT accessible to most clinics. We have spoken with ophthalmologists who confirm the need for this system in the detection and monitoring of diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, retinopathy of prematurity, and macular degeneration. Ophthalmology is the first clinical target but we have talked to users from other specialties including, ENT, oncology, dermatology, neurology, and gastroenterology. By significantly reducing instrument cost, this OCT system will be affordable for use at the point of care and in a wide range of research applications. This price point also opens markets in developing countries where the value of clinical OCT is understood, but currently clinical systems are too expensive. The research plan, proposed here, will create a prototype of the low cost instrument that utilizes an innovative system architecture based on newly available components while delivering all the imaging capabilities of OCT. We propose to achieve the following milestones: (1) Implement sub-systems as portable components, (2) Integrate sub-systems and software, and (3) Validate and test the complete portable system using an OCT eye phantom.
The objective of this research is to create a clinical prototype of a new low cost optical coherence tomography (OCT) system. The proposed instrument will use novel system design and new components to reduce the user price by at least a factor of 3 compared to available OCT imaging systems. This will provide access to clinics and labs that previously could not afford OCT systems. Point of care use of OCT systems may quickly become standard with the availability of this system.
