Strip-based Digital Image Registration for Distortion Minimization and Robust Eye Motion Measurement from Scanned Ophthalmic Imaging Systems

Retinal image-based eye motion measurement from scanned ophthalmic imaging systems, such as scanning laser ophthalmoscopy, has allowed for precise real-time eye tracking at sub-micron resolution. However, the constraints of real-time tracking result in a high error tolerance that is detrimental for some eye motion measurement and imaging applications. We show here that eye motion can be extracted from image sequences when these constraints are lifted, and all data is available at the time of registration. Our approach identifies and discards distorted frames, detects coarse motion to generate a synthetic reference frame and then uses it for fine scale motion tracking with improved sensitivity over a larger area. We demonstrate its application here to tracking scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (TSLO) and adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO), and show that it can successfully capture most of the eye motion across each image sequence, leaving only between 0.1-3.4% of non-blink frames untracked, while simultaneously minimizing image distortions induced from eye motion. These improvements will facilitate precise measurement of fixational eye movements (FEMs) in TSLO and longitudinal tracking of individual cells in AOSLO.