Optical Coherence Tomography System for Small Animal Fundus Imaging

Zhao Duo-Hao; Zhong Hao-Zhe; Li Shi-Ming; Wang Sai-Nan; Zhang Jun-Xiu; Cao Liang-Qi; Huang Jian-Feng; Zhang Jia-Cheng; Li Qin; Zhang Xiao

doi:10.3788/gzxb20265507.0717002

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Optical Coherence Tomography System for Small Animal Fundus Imaging

更新时间：2026-06-10

- Optical Coherence Tomography System for Small Animal Fundus Imaging
- Acta Photonica Sinica Pages: 1-11(2026)
- 作者机构：
  
  1.北京理工大学医学技术学院，北京 100081
  2.首都医科大学附属北京同仁医院，北京同仁眼科中心，北京市眼科学与视觉科学重点实验室，北京 100730
  3.首都医科大学附属北京朝阳医院麻醉科，北京 100020
- 作者简介：
- 基金信息：
  
  National Natural Science Foundation of China(62275018);Beijing Natural Science Foundation(4262016)
- DOI：10.3788/gzxb20265507.0717002
  CLC： R318
- CSTR：32255.14.gzxb20265507.0717002
- Received：04 January 2026，
  
  Revised：2026-04-20，
  
  Accepted：27 April 2026，
- 稿件说明：
移动端阅览
赵铎皓，钟浩哲，李仕明，等. 针对小动物眼底成像的光学相干层析成像系统［J］.光子学报，2026，55（7）：0717002

Zhao Duo-Hao， Zhong Hao-Zhe， Li Shi-Ming， et al. Optical Coherence Tomography System for Small Animal Fundus Imaging［J］. Acta Photonica Sinica， 2026， 55（7）：0717002
赵铎皓，钟浩哲，李仕明，等. 针对小动物眼底成像的光学相干层析成像系统［J］.光子学报，2026，55（7）：0717002 DOI： 10.3788/gzxb20265507.0717002. CSTR： 32255.14.gzxb20265507.0717002.

Zhao Duo-Hao， Zhong Hao-Zhe， Li Shi-Ming， et al. Optical Coherence Tomography System for Small Animal Fundus Imaging［J］. Acta Photonica Sinica， 2026， 55（7）：0717002 DOI： 10.3788/gzxb20265507.0717002. CSTR： 32255.14.gzxb20265507.0717002.

摘要

小动物模型是眼科疾病机理研究的重要载体，利用光学相干层

析成像（Optical Coherence Tomography， OCT）技术对其进行活体实验有助于推动基础研究向临床转化。然而，传统OCT系统在用于小动物眼底成像时，因存在扫描光束在两个正交方向上的枢轴点分离问题，所以在小瞳孔条件下会出现较严重的瞳孔遮挡探测光现象，导致成像视场畸变等问题。为此，本文通过理论分析与实验验证，实现了一种集成4

系统的OCT眼底扫描仪。光学仿真结果表明：所提方案能够消除枢轴点之间的偏移，实现枢轴点与瞳孔平面的重合，从而获得理想的圆形大视场，最大入瞳角度为56.0°。在体成像的对照实验进一步表明，与传统方案所获的椭圆形视场相比，所提方案提供的圆形视场显著扩展了成像范围，取得了更多眼底结构信息。本研究开发的基于国产光学部件的扫描仪解决了针对小动物的眼底OCT成像中视场受限等问题，为相关眼科疾病的临床前研究提供了可靠的成像工具。

Abstract

Purpose

Small animal models are essential for ophthalmic research because they enable controlled investigation of disease mechanisms and preclinical evaluation of new therapies. Optical coherence tomography （OCT） is a noninvasive， high-resolution imaging modality widely used for in vivo visualization of retinal microstructures. However， most OCT systems for small-animal fundus imaging are adapted from human-eye platforms and do not fully accommodate the anatomical and optical characteristics of small animal eyes. In particular， the much smaller pupil diameter of small animals makes wide-angle scanning highly susceptible to beam clipping and field restriction. A major cause of this limitation is the spatial separation of the pivot points associated with two orthogonal scanning directions in traditional galvanometric scanners. This study aimed to develop a dedicated OCT scanner for small-animal fundus imaging by integrating a 4

system into the sample arm to eliminate pivot-point separation and improve pupil matching.

Methods

The optical characteristics of human and small-animal eyes were first analyzed， focusing on pupil size and its effect on beam transmission during scanning. Then， two OCT sample-arm configurations were compared using optical simulation software： a traditional scanner consisting of a two-dimensional galvanometer and a telescope， and a proposed scanner composed of two one-dimensional galvanometers， a 4

system， and the same telescope. In the propose

d scanner， the 4

system relayed the beam deflections of the orthogonal galvanometers and mapped their pivot points onto the same spatial location， thereby removing the pivot-point separation of the traditional scheme. Simulations were performed with a Gaussian input beam， and galvanometer deflection angles were set within -8° to 8° to visualize beam propagation， pivot positions， and retinal spot distributions. For experimental validation， a SD-OCT system was constructed. Comparative in vivo retinal imaging was performed in a guinea pig using the same OCT platform alternately configured with the traditional and proposed scanners. The maximum scanning angle of the proposed scanner was also estimated in air by geometric-optics measurement based on beam displacement on a screen.

Results

Optical simulations showed that the traditional scanner exhibited a clear separation between the pivot points of the two scanning directions， with a distance of 5.8 mm. When one pivot point was aligned with the pupil plane， the beam corresponding to the other scanning direction was partially blocked by the small pupil， resulting in asymmetric beam transmission and an elliptical retinal field of view （FOV）. In contrast， the proposed scanner successfully merged the two pivot points through the 4

system， enabling the unified pivot to coincide with the pupil plane and maximizing pupil utilization. The simulated maximum entrance pupil angle reached 56.0°. Experimental results were consistent with the simulations. The measured full scanning angle in air was 56.7°. In vivo guinea pig imaging further demonstrated the superiority of the proposed scanner. Whereas the traditional scanner produced an elliptical field with limited retinal coverage， the proposed scanner generated a larger and more regular circular FOV. The in vivo results further showed reduced edge truncation， alleviated signal cutoff caused by pupil obstruction， and broader visualization of retinal structures. The

se findings confirmed that the 4

-based design effectively overcame the field limitation induced by pivot-point separation in traditional systems.

Conclusion

A dedicated OCT scanner for small-animal fundus imaging was developed and validated by integrating a 4

system into the sample arm. By eliminating the separation between orthogonal scanning pivot points and aligning the merged pivot with the pupil plane， the proposed scanner mitigates beam clipping caused by the small pupils of animal eyes. Both simulation and in vivo experiments demonstrated that， compared with a traditional scanner， the proposed system achieves a substantially larger and more regular retinal FOV， with a maximum entrance pupil angle of 56.0°. This work provides a practical and effective solution for wide-field OCT imaging of small-animal fundi.

关键词

Keywords

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