In vivo depth-resolved birefringence measurements of the human retinal nerve fiber layer using polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

摘要

We present in vivo depth-resolved birefringence measurements of the human retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) by use of polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT). Because glaucoma causes nerve fiber layer damage, which may cause loss of retinal birefringence, PS-OCT is a potentially useful technique for the early detection of glaucoma. We built a fiber-based PS-OCT setup that produces real-time images of the human retina in vivo, co-registered with video images of the location of PS-OCT scans on the retina. Preliminary measurements of a healthy volunteer showed that the double-pass phase retardation per unit depth of the RNFL varies with location with values in between 0.18 and 0.37?μm. A trend in the preliminary measurements shows that thicker nerve fiber layer tissue is more birefringent than thin nerve fiber layer tissue.