Dimensioning highly resolved retinal coherent imaging system embeddable in a contact lens

In this paper, we dimension, design, implement and test the performance of a coherent optical imaging system to be embedded in a scleral contact lens. Our system is designed to project monochromatic patterns onto < 1 mm² at the retinal fovea periphery. For this purpose, we can use an annular guide (ALG), comprising a set of refractive and diffractive periphery to keep the central vision free. Two optical configurations are tested: in-line and folded. We analyze their manufacturability and optical performance in terms of imaging resolution and quality, discuss the importance of key choices such as source characteristics, and suggest some improvements and limitations based on simple engineering rules guiding their encapsulation in contact lenses.