Miniaturized mobile, low cost optical coherence tomography system for home based ophthalmic applications

An optical coherence tomography (OCT) system to measure a distance between tissue layers of an eye, the OCT system comprising:

• a detector;
• a light source comprising a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) configured to generate a light beam comprising a plurality of wavelengths;
• a plurality of optical elements coupled to the light source to direct the light beam into the eye and generate an interference signal at the detector;
• and
• circuitry coupled to the detector and the light source to determine the distance between tissue layers of the eye in response to the interference signal, wherein the circuitry is configured to vary an emission wavelength of the VCSEL over a range of wavelengths with a drive current from the circuitry and wherein the circuitry is configured to drive the VCSEL over a maximum rated current threshold for a portion of a waveform and below the maximum rated current threshold for another portion of the waveform to extend the range of wavelengths of the VCSEL;
• wherein the OCT system is configured to measure the distance between tissue layers of the eye, the distance between tissue layers of the eye corresponding to a first layer at a first location and a second layer at a second location.