We demonstrate ultrahigh speed spectral / Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) using an ultrahigh speed CMOS line scan camera at rates of 70,000 -312,500 axial scans per second. Several design configurations are characterized to illustrate trade-offs between acquisition speed, resolution, imaging range, sensitivity and sensitivity roll-off performance. Ultrahigh resolution OCT with 2.5 -3.0 micron axial image resolution is demonstrated at ∼ 100,000 axial scans per second. A high resolution spectrometer design improves sensitivity roll-off and imaging range performance, trading off imaging speed to 70,000 axial scans per second. Ultrahigh speed imaging at >300,000 axial scans per second with standard image resolution is also demonstrated. Ophthalmic OCT imaging of the normal human retina is investigated. The high acquisition speeds enable dense raster scanning to acquire densely sampled volumetric three dimensional OCT (3D-OCT) data sets of the macula and optic disc with minimal motion artifacts. Imaging with ∼ 8 -9 micron axial resolution at 250,000 axial scans per second, a 512 × 512 × 400 voxel volumetric 3D-OCT data set can be acquired in only ∼ 1.3 seconds. Orthogonal registration scans are used to register OCT raster scans and remove residual axial eye motion, resulting in 3D-OCT data sets which preserve retinal topography. Rapid repetitive imaging over small volumes can visualize small retinal features without motion induced distortions and enables volume registration to remove eye motion. Cone photoreceptors in some regions of the retina can be visualized without adaptive optics or active eye tracking. Rapid repetitive imaging of 3D volumes also provides dynamic volumetric information (4D-OCT) which is shown to enhance visualization of retinal capillaries and should enable functional imaging. Improvements in the speed and performance of 3D-OCT volumetric imaging promise to enable earlier diagnosis and improved monitoring of disease progression and response to therapy in ophthalmology, as well as have a wide range of research and clinical applications in other areas. 1.IntroductionAn increasingly important tool for medical diagnosis and biomedical research, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) enables two and three dimensional visualization of the internal structure and morphology of tissue [1]. High sensitivity, large dynamic range, and micron level resolution imaging are achieved with OCT by interferometric detection of backscattered light from the sample. In ophthalmology, OCT can perform non-invasive structural and quantitative NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript imaging of the retina and anterior segment, which enables the identification of pathologies for disease diagnosis or monitoring responses to therapy [2].The earliest implementations of OCT used low coherence interferometry with time domain detection in which the echo delay of backscattered light was measured by mechanically sweeping a mirror in a reference arm [3,4,5]. Commercial ophtha...

Absolute measurements of cerebral blood flow (CBF) are an important endpoint in studies of cerebral pathophysiology. Currently no accepted method exists for in vivo longitudinal monitoring of CBF with high resolution in rats and mice. Using three-dimensional Doppler Optical Coherence Tomography and cranial window preparations, we present methods and algorithms for regional CBF measurements in the rat cortex. Towards this end, we develop and validate a quantitative statistical model to describe the effect of static tissue on velocity sensitivity. This model is used to design scanning protocols and algorithms for sensitive 3D flow measurements and angiography of the cortex. We also introduce a method of absolute flow calculation that does not require explicit knowledge of vessel angles. We show that OCT estimates of absolute CBF values in rats agree with prior measures by autoradiography, suggesting that Doppler OCT can perform absolute flow measurements in animal models.

High-speed UHR OCT enables quantification of scattering layers in the outer retina. An interpretation of these features is presented and supported by quantitative measurements in normal subjects and comparison with known anatomy. The thick scattering region of the outer retina previously attributed to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is shown to consist of distinct scattering bands corresponding to the photoreceptor outer segment tips, RPE, and Bruch's membrane. These results may advance understanding of the outer retinal appearance in OCT images. The normative measurements may also aid in future investigations of outer retinal changes in age-related macular degeneration and other diseases.

PURPOSE To report normal macular thickness measurements and assess reproducibility of retinal thickness measurements acquired by a time domain optical coherence tomography (OCT)(Stratus [Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., Dublin, CA, USA]) and three commercially available spectral / Fourier domain OCT instruments (Cirrus HD-OCT [Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., Dublin, CA, USA], RTVue-100 [Optovue, Inc., Fremont, CA, USA], 3D OCT-1000 [Topcon, Inc., Paramus, NJ, USA]). METHODS Forty randomly selected eyes of 40 normal, healthy volunteers were imaged. Subjects were scanned twice during one visit and a subset of 25 was scanned again within 8 weeks. Retinal thickness measurements were automatically generated by OCT software and recorded after manual correction. Regression and Bland-Altman plots were used to compare agreement between instruments. Reproducibility was analyzed by using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and incidence of artifacts was determined. RESULTS Macular thickness measurements were found to have high reproducibility across all instruments, with ICC values ranging 84.8–94.9% for Stratus OCT; 92.6–97.3% for Cirrus Cube; 76.4–93.7% for RTVue MM5, 61.1–96.8% for MM6; 93.1–97.9% for 3D OCT-1000 Radial, 31.5–97.5% for 3D Macular scans. Incidence of artifacts was higher in spectral / Fourier domain instruments, ranging 28.75 to 53.16%, compared to 17.46% in Stratus OCT. No significant age or gender trends were found in the measurements. CONCLUSIONS Commercial spectral / Fourier domain OCT instruments provide higher speed and axial resolution than the Stratus OCT, although they vary greatly in scanning protocols and are currently limited in their analysis functions. Further development of segmentation algorithms and quantitative features are needed to assist clinicians in objective use of these newer instruments to manage diseases.

Purpose To demonstrate ultrahigh-speed optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging of the retina and optic nerve head at 249,000 axial scans per second and a wavelength of 1060 nm. To investigate methods for visualization of the retina, choroid, and optic nerve using high-density sampling enabled by improved imaging speed. Methods A swept-source OCT retinal imaging system operating at a speed of 249,000 axial scans per second was developed. Imaging of the retina, choroid, and optic nerve were performed. Display methods such as speckle reduction, slicing along arbitrary planes, en face visualization of reflectance from specific retinal layers, and image compounding were investigated. Results High-definition and three-dimensional (3D) imaging of the normal retina and optic nerve head were performed. Increased light penetration at 1060 nm enabled improved visualization of the choroid, lamina cribrosa, and sclera. OCT fundus images and 3D visualizations were generated with higher pixel density and less motion artifacts than standard spectral/Fourier domain OCT. En face images enabled visualization of the porous structure of the lamina cribrosa, nerve fiber layer, choroid, photoreceptors, RPE, and capillaries of the inner retina. Conclusions Ultrahigh-speed OCT imaging of the retina and optic nerve head at 249,000 axial scans per second is possible. The improvement of ∼5 to 10× in imaging speed over commercial spectral/Fourier domain OCT technology enables higher density raster scan protocols and improved performance of en face visualization methods. The combination of the longer wavelength and ultrahigh imaging speed enables excellent visualization of the choroid, sclera, and lamina cribrosa.

No abstract

Abstract:We compared the performance of three OCT angiography (OCTA) methods: speckle variance, amplitude decorrelation and phase variance for imaging of the human retina and choroid. Two averaging methods, split spectrum and volume averaging, were compared to assess the quality of the OCTA vascular images. All data were acquired using a swept-source OCT system at 1040 nm central wavelength, operating at 100,000 A-scans/s. We performed a quantitative comparison using a contrast-to-noise (CNR) metric to assess the capability of the three methods to visualize the choriocapillaris layer. For evaluation of the static tissue noise suppression in OCTA images we proposed to calculate CNR between the photoreceptor/RPE complex and the choriocapillaris layer. Finally, we demonstrated that implementation of intensity-based OCT imaging and OCT angiography methods allows for visualization of retinal and choroidal vascular layers known from anatomic studies in retinal preparations. OCT projection imaging of data flattened to selected retinal layers was implemented to visualize retinal and choroidal vasculature. User guided vessel tracing was applied to segment the retinal vasculature. The results were visualized in a form of a skeletonized 3D model. Eye (Lond.) 4(2), 262-272 (1990). 4. B. Braaf, K. A. Vermeer, K. V. Vienola, and J. F. de Boer, "Angiography of the retina and the choroid with phase-resolved OCT using interval-optimized backstitched B-scans," Opt. Express 20(18), 20516-20534 (2012 "Real-time speckle variance swept-source optical coherence tomography using a graphics processing unit," Biomed. Opt. Express 3(7), 1557-1564 (2012 Garstecki, and M. Wojtkowski, "Differentiation of morphotic elements in human blood using optical coherence tomography and a microfluidic setup," Opt. Express 23(21), 27724-27738 (2015). 76. W. S. Rasband, "ImageJ," (U. S. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, 1997USA, -2015

Abstract:We describe a new ultrahigh speed Spectral OCT instrument making use of a CMOS camera and demonstrate high quality in vivo imaging of the anterior segment of the human eye. The high flexibility of the designed imaging system allows a wide range of imaging protocols. Two-and three-dimensional high quality OCT images of the cornea, the anterior chamber and the crystalline lens are presented. A high acquisition rate, up to 135,000 A-scans/second enables three-dimensional reconstruction of the anterior segment during lenticular accommodation, blinking and pupillary reaction to light stimulus. We demonstrate OCT tomographic real time imaging of the lens dynamics during accommodation and high quality OCT cross-sectional images of the entire anterior segment of the eye from the cornea up to posterior part of the crystalline lens. 2009 Optical Society of America