Three-dimensional optical coherence tomography of the human retina in vivo by high-speed transversal scanning

摘要

Most of the presently used OCT systems are based on A-scans, i.e., the fast scanning direction is the z-direction. We have developed a new OCT technique for retinal imaging that is based on a transversal scanning scheme and combines the imaging modes of a scanning laser ophthalmoscope with the depth sectioning capability of OCT. A stable high-frequency carrier is generated by use of an acousto optic modulator, and high frame rate is obtained by using a resonant scanning mirror for the priority scan (x-direction). Our prototype instrument records 64 transverse images consisting of 256x128 pixels in 1.2 seconds, thus providing the fastest retinal 3D OCT time domain scanning system reported so far. We demonstrate the capabilities of our system by measuring and imaging the fovea and the optic nerve head region of healthy human volunteers in vivo.