Abstract
Photoreceptor loss and resultant thinning of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) is an important pathological feature of retinal degenerations and may serve as a useful imaging biomarker for age-related macular degeneration. However, the demarcation between the ONL and the adjacent Henle's fiber layer (HFL) is difficult to visualize with standard optical coherence tomography (OCT). A dedicated OCT system that can precisely control and continuously and synchronously update the imaging beam entry points during scanning has not been realized yet. In this paper, we introduce a novel imaging technology, Volumetric Directional OCT (VD-OCT), which can dynamically adjust the incident beam on the pupil without manual adjustment during a volumetric OCT scan. We also implement a customized spoke-circular scanning pattern to observe the appearance of HFL with sufficient optical contrast in continuous cross-sectional scans through the entire volume. The application of VD-OCT for retinal imaging to exploit directional reflectivity properties of tissue layers has the potential to allow for early identification of retinal diseases.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 950-961 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Biomedical Optics Express |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 1 2022 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biotechnology
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics