Optical Incoherence Tomography: a method to generate tomographic retinal cross-sections with non-interferometric adaptive optics ophthalmoscopes

摘要

We present Optical Incoherence Tomography (OIT): a completely digital method to generate tomographic retinal cross-sections from through-focus image stacks acquired by non-interferometric imaging systems, such as adaptive optics (AO)-ophthalmoscopes. We demonstrate that OIT can be applied to different imaging modalities using back-scattered light, including systems without inherent optical sectioning and, for the first time, multiply-scattered light, revealing a distinctive cross-sectional view of the retina. The axial dimension of OIT cross-sections is given in terms of focus position rather than optical path, as in OCT. We explore this property to guide focus position in cases where the user is “blind” focusing, allowing precise plane selection for imaging of retinal pigment epithelium, the vascular plexuses and translucent retinal neurons, such as photoreceptor inner segments and retinal ganglion cells, using respectively autofluorescence, motion contrast and split detection techniques.