Higher adaptive optics loop rate enhances axial resolution in nonconfocal ophthalmoscopes

Abstract

In this Letter, we propose a way to better understand the im- pact of dynamic ocular aberrations in the axial resolution of nonconfocal adaptive optics (AO) ophthalmoscopes via a sim- ulation ofthe 3D PSF in the retina for various AO-loop rates. We then use optical incoherence tomography, a method en- abling the generation of tomographic retinal cross sections in incoherent imaging systems, to evaluate the benefits of a fast AO-looprateonaxial resolution and, consequently,onAO- corrected retinal image quality. We used the PARIS AO flood- illumination ophthalmoscope for this study, where retinal images from different focal planes at an AO-loop rate of 10 and 50 Hz were acquired.