Remote, web-based interface control of handheld swept source OCT system for acute care settings

Abstract

Purpose : The design requirements for ocular diagnostics in a general medical setting, such as the emergency room (ER), frequently differ from that of a specialty ophthalmic clinic. We recently developed a handheld, swept source OCT (SSOCT) probe dedicated for acute care settings. A novel feature of this probe is the incorporation of a web-based user interface (WebUI) to provide on-probe displays and controls for the user. We report here on successful use of this WebUI to perform OCT examinations in practice.

Methods : The handheld SSOCT probe features switchable anterior/posterior segment optics. Custom written CUDA/C++ software was used to obtain and process SSOCT data, display images, and control the system on a desktop computer. By incorporating WebSockets into the software, server-client relationships were created between the desktop system (server) and any other device (client). Using HTML and JavaScript, key OCT displays and controls were ported to a webpage and accessed on a cell phone mounted on the handheld probe for wireless control of the OCT system (Fig. 1). This handheld probe with real-time WebUI was then used to image 20 subjects, 2 in an ER setting, under an IRB approved protocol. Latency was measured using high-speed video recording of the system response to a light impulse. Average latency and observed range over 10 readings were computed.

Results : The handheld OCT system with WebUI was successfully used to capture targeted posterior eye structures in all 20 subjects. Representative images are shown in Fig. 2. The measured latency to the desktop monitor was 124±33 ms; using the WebUI added 72±45 ms, which did not impact operator usage. Overall end-to-end latency was 195±67 ms.

Conclusions : Diagnostic images of the eye were successfully captured using WebUI control of a handheld OCT system. With possible multiple simultaneous client sessions, this implementation shows promise for telemedicine applications. The platform-neutral and flexible nature of a WebUI offers tremendous potential for customizing user interface displays and controls for a variety of OCT hardware systems, applications, and end users.

This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.

 

Figure 1: The cell phone provides on board control of the probe (red box). Image dewarping and motion correction was done in post-processing.

 

Figure 2: Representative images acquired under WebUI control showing a normal optic nerve head (left) and an individual with pseudopapilledema (right).