Intensity Variance‐Guided Automated Robotic Optical Coherence Tomography System for Ophthalmic Applications

ABSTRACT

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) enables non‐invasive volumetric retinal imaging. Conventional tabletop and handheld systems rely on skilled operators and patient cooperation. Mobile robot‐assisted OCT (RAOCT) systems can address these challenges, but many depend on complex visual servo modules for low‐latency eye tracking. We present an intensity variance‐guided RAOCT system integrated on a wheeled mobile platform. The system uses one depth camera for coarse eye localization and a single pupil camera for real‐time tracking. By calibrating a lookup table between image variance and distance within the near‐eye region, the pupil camera provides indirect depth estimation for robotic servoing. A motorized reference arm, an electrically tunable lens, and an automated polarization controller further enable image‐quality optimization. Experiments demonstrated 103.50 μm axial and 20.46 μm lateral tracking accuracy. The pupil‐camera response time was 10.53 ms. Automated retinal OCT imaging was achieved, demonstrating the system's potential for point‐of‐care diagnostics in resource‐limited environments.