Ultra-high Resolution Functional Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography for Real-Time 4-D Imaging Dr. Jin U. Kang
JHU Optical coherence tomography has become a high-resolution, high-speed, and versatile tomographic imaging modality along with technological developments in high-performance optical sensors: CCD and CMOS cameras, high-quality, and low-coherent light source, such as ultrafast laser or superluminescent emission diodes (SLED). Due to superior imaging speed and higher sensitivity, Fourier domain OCT (FD OCT) is gradually supplanting time domain OCT (TD OCT) in most applications. We have been developing Spectral domain-based FDOCT (SD OCT), one subcategory of FD OCT for microsurgical applications. Surgeons require both physical and optical access to tight surgical space in order to perform microsurgery on delicate tissues such as retina. Our research effort is directed at providing microsurgeons with OCT based real-time high-resolution 4-D visualization that will enhance their ability to achieve surgical objectives, diminish surgical risk, and improve outcomes. Compared to other image-guiding modalities such as MRI, CT, and ultrasound, OCT is more compact and portable, allowing for integration with surgical tools. In this talk I will discuss challenges in achieving high resolution (~1 micron), high-speed (10 frames/s) functional 4-D SDOCT along with various hardware and signal processing methods we have developed to overcome the challenges.