Space related neuro-ocular syndrom (SANS) is a collective term for (pathological) changes in the eye of astronatus being exposed to micro-gravity. Due to a limited patient cohort (i.e. limited number of astronauts), SANS is not well understood or invastigated. Up to now, studies on SANS were mainly based on pre- and post flight measurements using MRI, standard vision tests and OCT. 

In order to further investigate the origin and impact of SANS in astronauts, space agencies like ESA or NASA are highly interested in an OCT device for spaceflight. Current commercial OCT systems have a large footprint (~1m2), and are fairly heavy (~30kg), which are limiting factors to send such devices to space stations. 

Within a literature and technology review, as well as a market analysis of miniaturized OCT we investigated the state-of-the-art of mini OCT to give ESA an overview of potential OCT systems that could be used in space. 

In a later step, we transformed the reports for ESA in a review paper that can be found here: 

E.A. Rank et al., Miniaturizing Optical Coherence tomography, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tbio.202100007 

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is the gold-standard for diagnosis of retinal diseases by raster scanning the retina with a soft laser beam. 

However, current commercial OCT systems are bulky and expensive which are the two major reasons for OCT being available in clinics or large ophthalmic practices. 

The development of silicon photonics, or photonic integrated circuits (PIC), are an emerging technology to overcome Moor's law in the electronic field. Similas to the well-known CMOS technology, PICs can be produced using the same machines as CMOS and therefore can be produced in mass (massive cost reduction). Photonic building blocks can be fabricated with a magnitude smaller than fiber optics and therefore might be the the technology that enables small, cost effective and even handheld OCT devices, improving the availability of retinal diagnosis tools in local ophthalmic practices, in low-resource settings and even in space. 

Using an on-PIC interferometer, we established a OCT setup for in vivo human retinal imaging with a miniaturized OCT-engine. The results are summarized in the nature publishing group journal Scientific reports: E.A. Rank, In vivo human retinal swept source optical coherence tomography and angiography at 830 nm with a CMOS compatible photonic integrated circuit, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-00637-4 

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is the gold-standard for diagnosis of retinal diseases by raster scanning the retina with a soft laser beam. 

However, current commercial OCT systems are bulky and expensive which are the two major reasons for OCT being available in clinics or large ophthalmic practices. 

The development of silicon photonics, or photonic integrated circuits (PIC), are an emerging technology to overcome Moor's law in the electronic field. Similas to the well-known CMOS technology, PICs can be produced using the same machines as CMOS and therefore can be produced in mass (massive cost reduction). Photonic building blocks can be fabricated with a magnitude smaller than fiber optics and therefore might be the the technology that enables small, cost effective and even handheld OCT devices, improving the availability of retinal diagnosis tools in local ophthalmic practices, in low-resource settings and even in space. 

We reported on the world-wide first in vivo human retinal OCT imaging in the nature journal Light science an applications (impact factor 20.26): E.A. Rank et al. Toward optical coherence tomography on a chip: in vivo three-dimensional human retinal imaging using photonic integrated circuit-based arrayed waveguide gratings, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41377-020-00450-0 

Cataracts is one of the most likely disease for humans over the age of 65 years. Due to several factors, the human lens turns milky and vision is reduced - up to blindness. 

Within a cataract surgery the natural lens is extracted and in order to restore the refractive power of the eye an artificial, so called intraocular lens (IOL), is placed in the capsular bag of the eye. 

During healing processes post-operation these IOLs could shift and/or tilt in respect to the optical axis. 

A opto-mechanical eyemodel, simulating the optical parameters of human eyes, was designed and constructed. A shift/tilt unit was added to investiget imaging performance in various displacement positions. 

Data acquisition, controlling unit for the shift/tilt unit, measurement of chromatic aberration have been implemented via LabView and Matlab.