Characteristics of time-domain optical coherence tomography profiles generated from blood-saline mixtures

Time-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) employing a 1300 nm broadband source is used to study flowing blood-saline mixtures with blood concentration ranging from 20% to 100%. The study emphasizes the characteristics of the recorded OCT signal and its connection with the properties of the corresponding fluids. There are three regions with distinct properties along the compounded OCT profiles showing the signal dependence on depth. The recorded OCT signal increases for the first 80 microm into the fluid. The flow characteristics of the solution and the average spatial orientation of the blood cells can be extracted from this region of the OCT profile. In the second region, the OCT signal decreases with depth into the sample. An admixture of quasi-ballistic light detected after a single reflection and light recorded after undergoing multiple-scattering interactions with blood cells contributes to the signal recorded in this region. As a consequence, the attenuation of OCT signal with depth into the sample shows a weak dependence on the concentration of blood over this region. The third region starts at a depth of approximately 0.6 mm within all the studied blood-saline mixtures. OCT signal recorded from this region is dominated by light detected after multiple-scattering interactions with blood cells. This region of the OCT profile is characterized by a reduced rate of attenuation with depth compared to the rate recorded along the second region of the compounded profile. A geometrical method is used to estimate the contribution from multiple-scattered light to the OCT signal. The multiple-scattered component shows a parabolic dependence on blood concentration with a maximum contribution at a blood concentration of 55%.