First Clinical Application of Low-Cost OCT

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is vital for retinal imaging and diagnostics.
• High cost and limited portability of current OCT systems restrict widespread clinical adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and evaluate a novel, low-cost, portable, and stand-alone spectral-domain OCT system.
• To compare the retinal imaging performance of the new OCT system against a standard commercial OCT device.

Main Methods:

• A cost-effective spectral-domain OCT system was developed.
• Clinical imaging was conducted on 120 eyes (60 normal, 60 with retinal disease).
• Image quality was assessed by measuring contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and comparing it to a Heidelberg Engineering Spectralis OCT.

Main Results:

• The low-cost OCT system achieved an axial resolution of 8.0 μm and lateral resolution of 19.6 μm.
• The system costs $5037, offering significant cost and size reductions.
• Mean CNR was only 5.6% lower than the Heidelberg Spectralis, indicating comparable performance.

Conclusions:

• The developed low-cost OCT system produces adequate resolution for clinical retinal diagnostics.
• It presents a viable, cost-effective alternative for retinal screening, potentially increasing accessibility.
• This technology holds translational relevance for broader application in eye care.