Spectrally encoded extended source optical coherence tomography

• Main Authors: Yu, Xiaojun, Tang, Hongying, Liu, Xinyu, Cui, Dongyao, Beotra, Meghna R., Girard, Michael J. A., Sun, Ding, Gu, Jun, Liu, Linbo
• Other Authors: School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering::Optics, optoelectronics, photonics
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/107219; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/25313; http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OL.39.006803
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

We have developed an extended source optical coherence tomography (SEES-OCT) technique in an attempt to improve signal strength for ophthalmic imaging. A line illumination with a visual angle of 7.9 mrad is produced by introducing a dispersive element in the infinity space of the sample arm. The maximum permissible exposure (MPE) of such an extended source is 3.1 times larger than that of a ‘standard’ point source OCT, which corresponds to sensitivity improvement of 5-dB. The advantage of SEES-OCT in providing superior penetration depth over a point source system is demonstrated using swine eye tissues ex vivo.