Retinal imaging apparatus and method

A method of illuminating the retina of an eye with collimated light comprising the steps of:

• providing an illuminating device including a light source capable of producing light in a plane, the light radiating in said plane from a first point such that, in use, the illuminating device illuminates a circumferential line on the retina lying on said plane;
• providing a support structure,
• wherein the illuminating device is pivotably mountable to the support structure and is automatically rotatable about an axis which lies substantially on the plane defined by the light source and which extends through a second point;
• providing a scan transfer device having first and second foci, the first point being provided at the first focus of the scan transfer device and the second point being provided at the second focus of the scan transfer device;
• positioning the scan transfer device so that the pupillary point of the eye is accommodated at the second focus of the scan transfer device;
• and
• automatically rotating the illuminating device about the axis to illuminate a plurality of circumferential lines on the retina with collimated light by scanning the circumferential line illuminated by the light about said axis.

A method of imaging the retina of an eye using collimated light comprising the steps of:

• providing an illuminating device including a light source capable of producing light in a plane, the light radiating in said plane from a first point such that, in use, the illuminating device illuminates a circumferential line on the retina lying on said plane and centered on a second point, the illuminating device further comprising a scan transfer device, wherein the scan transfer device has first and second foci, the first point is provided at the first focus of the scan transfer device, the second point is provided at the second focus of the scan transfer device, and the scan transfer device is adapted to be positioned so that the pupillary point of the eye is accommodated at the second focus of the scan transfer device;
• providing one or more detectors for detecting the reflected light from the retina to produce an image of the retina;
• providing a support structure,
• wherein the illuminating device is pivotably mountable to the support structure and is rotatable about an axis which lies substantially on the plane defined by the light source and which extends through said second point;
• and
• rotating the illuminating device about the axis to illuminate a plurality of circumferential lines on the retina with collimated light and to obtain a plurality of substantially one-dimensional images of the retina by scanning the circumferential line illuminated by the light about said axis;
• and
• combining the plurality of substantially one-dimensional images to obtain a two-dimensional image of the retina.