Gamma speckle - Optical diagnosis of corneal defects

SATT SUD EST



21 Septembre 2016

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Fields

Physics Engineering

Sectors

Health

BACKGROUND

Ophthalmologists usually conduct a simple analysis with biomicroscopy to diagnose whether the cornea is damaged.

However, this technique does not allow a precise analysis of the cornea, including for detecting little damages not visible to the naked eye which can lead to serious complications.

There is a real need for new technologies for improving accuracy, especially as the existing sophisticated techniques (eg. specular microscopy) are complex, expensive, time-consuming, and not only allow an examination of a small portion of about 1mm2.

HOW IT WORKS

Gamma speckle is a new device to reliably detect alterations of the cornea at an early stage.

The device is an imaging sensor that records the speckle pattern emitted by the cornea excited with a low power quasi-monochromatic light source (e.g. visible lasers, infrared…). A processing unit displays the speckle as a histogram or a probability density law and applies an analytical formula called "gamma distribution of order N".

The order N of the gamma distribution reflects the corneal level of heterogeneity. It enable to measure the corneal alteration level, may be due, for example, to poor hydration or disease.

KEY BENEFITS vs. STATE OF THE ART

•Just one measurement distinguishes efficiently and almost instantly if the cornea is healthy or presents alterations, even low
•Analyses the totality of the cornea
•Easy to use and inexpensive
•Non-invasive diagnosis, directly on the patient without inconvenience
•Early diagnosis, even before the current tests can detect larger corneal damages. With preventive treatments, it enables to reduce surgery need.

DEVELOPMENT STATUS

•Optical tests in progress
•Possible to use luminescent source

APPLICATIONS

Diagnosis of corneal damages

Assessing the effect of a corrective lens

Biological tissue analysis

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