Design and control of a visual servomechanism for automating corneal cross-linking treatment in keratoconus patients

Authors: ONURCAN ŞAHİN, ERDİNÇ ALTUĞ

Abstract: A novel mechatronic system designed for automated corneal cross-linking (CCL) treatment in keratoconus patients is introduced. Keratoconus is a serious illness that if not treated may cause serious distortion of vision. Currently, the CCL operation, which is the most promising treatment of this disease, is performed manually. The automated system developed is the first of its kind to automate the treatment with visual feedback, and it aims to increase the efficiency in treatment and to eliminate any potential side effects and risks of the treatment. To track the eye of the patient, the system consists of a camera, an image processing algorithm developed on OpenCV sharp, a planar servomechanism system consisting of various mechanical and electronic components, and a PIC microcontroller that contains digital PID controllers. The proposed system and the algorithms are designed and simulated in Matlab, and then the system is manufactured and various experiments with an eye pattern and animal eyes are performed. The results are shown and discussed.

Keywords: Keratoconus treatment, eye tracking, system identification, digital PID design, corneal cross-linking

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