Optical coherence tomography is an imaging modality that is broadly used in ophthalmic diagnostics. The current generation of OCT systems enables reliable acquisition of volumetric scans containing information about the thicknesses of the various retinal layers. Thus, monitoring layer thickness changes is the main quantitative analysis performed by commercial instruments. In principle, measurements of the OCT signal intensity could also provide information on the health status of the retinal tissue. Unfortunately quantitative measurements and interpretation of scattering changes in retinal OCT is very limited due to variation in overall brightness of the OCT B-scans between imaging sessions. These changes might be caused by variation in alignment or focusing, as well as variation in the quality of the eye’s optics (changes in the tear film, dilation of pupil etc.). Therefore, quantitative analysis of layer intensity requires careful normalization to minimize the effects of such variables. In this manuscript we demonstrate that changes in OCT signal intensity occur in a mouse model of light-induced photoreceptor degeneration. Normalization and quantification of light scattering changes in human patients could likewise lead to improved understanding of clinical OCT data.

Date Published: 18 March 2014
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 8934, Optical Coherence Tomography and Coherence Domain Optical Methods in Biomedicine XVIII, 893422 (18 March 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2042010

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8934:
Optical Coherence Tomography and Coherence Domain Optical Methods in Biomedicine XVIII
Joseph A. Izatt; James G. Fujimoto; Valery V. Tuchin, Editor(s)