Control system for setting illumination power of an ophthalmic imaging system

1 . A control system for controlling two or more illuminates of a multi-modality ophthalmic imaging system that are arranged to generate light for imaging an eye, the control system comprising:

a processor controllable by software to select, from the two or more illuminates and based on a selected imaging modality of the ophthalmic imaging system, one or more illuminates that are to be used to image the eye, and to generate an input signal identifying the selected one or more illuminates; and

logic hardware in communication with the processor and configured to;

receive the input signal from the processor;

generate, based on the received input signal, a respective operating power for each illuminate of the selected one or more illuminates; and

generate a respective control signal for each illuminate of the selected one or more illuminates, wherein each control signal indicates the respective operating power determined for the respective illuminate.

2 . The control system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:

the logic hardware comprises two or more inputs coupled to the processor,

each input corresponds to a respective illuminate of the two or more illuminates within the ophthalmic imaging system, and

the input signal generated by the processor identifies the selected one or more illuminates by comprising a respective signal transmitted to each of one or more inputs of the hardware that correspond to the selected one or more illuminates.

3 . The control system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein;

the logic hardware comprises, for each illuminate within the ophthalmic imaging system, a respective two or more outputs arranged to output control signals for controlling an operating power of the illuminate, and

a control signal output from each output of the two or more outputs is arranged to set an operating power of the illuminate to a respective power level.

4 . The control system as claimed in claim 3 , wherein;

the logic block comprises, for each illuminate within the ophthalmic imaging system, a respective first output and a respective second output,

a control signal output from the respective first output is arranged to set an operating power of the illuminate to a first power level, and

a control signal output from the respective second output is arranged to set an operating power of the illuminate to a second power level which is higher than the first power level.

5 . The control system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the control system further comprises:

a power monitor arranged to measure a respective power output from each of the two or more illuminates within the ophthalmic imaging system, and to generate a power input signal indicative of the measured power outputs; and

an electronic safety system comprising:

one or more first inputs arranged to receive the power input signal from the power monitor;

one or more second inputs arranged to receive, from the logic hardware, block, the respective control signal generated for each illuminate of the selected one or more illuminates; and

a controller arranged to compare, for each illuminate of the selected one or more illuminates, the respective measured power output from the illuminate with the respective operating power determined for the illuminate, to determine if the measured power output from the illuminate differs from the operating power determined for the illuminate by more than a predefined amount.

6 . The control system as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the controller is further arranged, in response to determining that the measured power output from an illuminate of the selected one or more illuminates differs from the operating power determined for the illuminate by more than the predefined amount, to generate a control signal to turn the illuminate off.

7 . The control system as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the controller is arranged, in response to determining that the measured power output from the illuminate of the selected one or more illuminates differs from the operating power determined for the illuminate by more than the predefined amount, to generate, as the control signal, a trip signal for disconnecting a power supply to the illuminate.

8 . A multi-modality ophthalmic imaging system comprising:

two or more illuminates arranged to generate light for imaging an eye; and

a control system arranged to control the two or more illuminates, the control system comprising:

a processor controllable by software to select, from the two or more illuminates and based on a selected imaging modality of the ophthalmic imaging system, one or more illuminates that are to be used to image the eye, and to generate an input signal identifying the selected one or more illuminates; and

logic hardware in communication with the processor and configured to:

receive the input signal from the processor;

generate, based on the received input signal, a respective operating power for each illuminate of the selected one or more illuminates; and

generate a respective control signal for each illuminate of the selected one or more illuminates, wherein each control signal indicates the respective operating power determined for the respective illuminate.

9 . A method of controlling two or more illuminates of a multi-modality ophthalmic imaging system that are arranged to generate light for imaging an eye, the method comprising:

acquiring an indication of an imaging modality in which the multi-modality ophthalmic imaging system is to image the eye;

selecting, by a processor controllable by software, from the two or more illuminates and based on the acquired indication of the imaging modality, one or more illuminates that are to be used to image the eye; and

generating, based on the selected one or more illuminates, an input signal to logic hardware in electrical communication with the processor, thereby causing the logic hardware to:

determine a respective operating power for each illuminate of the selected one or more illuminates, based on the input signal; and

generate a respective control signal for each illuminate of the selected one or more illuminates, wherein each control signal indicates the respective operating power determined for the respective illuminate.

10 . The method as claimed in claim 9 , further comprising:

acquiring a power input signal indicative of measurements of a respective power output from each of the selected one or more illuminates;

comparing, for each illuminate of the selected one or more illuminates, the respective measured power output from the illuminate with the respective operating power determined for the illuminate, to determine if the measured power output from the illuminate differs from the operating power determined for the illuminate by more than a predefined amount; and

in response to determining that, for at least one illuminate of the selected one or more illuminates, the measured power output from the illuminate differs from the operating power determined for the illuminate by more than the predefined amount, turning off the selected one or more illuminates.

11 . The method as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the selected one or more illuminates are turned off by outputting a trip signal for disconnecting a power supply to the selected one or more illuminates in response to determining that, for at least one illuminate of the selected one or more illuminates, the measured power output from the illuminate differs from the operating power determined for the illuminate by more than the predefined amount.