Surface glare suppression in retinal imaging with a cross-polarized line-scanning color fundus camera
Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Abstract: Fundus imaging is critical for the early detection and management of retinal diseases, yet cost and technical limitations remain barriers to broad implementation, especially in resource-limited settings. Conventional fundus photography and scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO) involve trade-offs in cost, field of view (FOV), color fidelity, and image contrast, and are often affected by corneal surface glare. We present a novel, low-cost line-scanning color fundus camera (LS-CFC) that integrates both line-confocal and polarization-based glare suppression, effectively mitigating corneal surface glare while maintaining high contrast, color accuracy, and a large FOV in non-mydriatic imaging conditions. Using a broadband white LED source, the system avoids the complexity of multi-laser alignment and calibration inherent to SLO designs. In clinical tests, the LS-CFC achieved non-mydriatic imaging with a 60° FOV and demonstrated comparable image quality to a standard 45° fundus camera (Carl Zeiss FF450).
Authors: Yaochun Shen, Xingyu Yang, Zijian Zhang, Xiuju Chen, Philip Burgess, SARAH MCGHEE, MARK JOHNSON, TICIANA CRIDDLE, Gabriela Czanner, Simon Harding, DAVID Wong, XIAOXIN li, Yalin Zheng
Language: English
Topic: Retinal Imaging and Analysis
Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4417227854