Swept source/Fourier domain polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography with a passive polarization delay...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Optics
• Medical Imaging
• Ophthalmology

Background:

• Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) offers enhanced contrast by utilizing light polarization properties.
• Existing PS-OCT systems often involve complex active polarization modulation, increasing cost and synchronization needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate a simplified, cost-effective PS-OCT system using a passive polarization delay unit.
• To achieve ultrahigh speed imaging at 100 kHz using a 1050 nm swept-source OCT.
• To evaluate the system's capability for enhanced tissue discrimination and quantitative measurements in retinal imaging.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a passive polarization delay unit in the sample beam path for simultaneous dual-polarization illumination.
• Utilizing ultrahigh speed swept-source/Fourier domain OCT operating at 1050 nm with 100 kHz axial scan rates.
• Employing dual balanced detection for orthogonal polarization components and Jones calculus for image computation.

Main Results:

• Successful 3D PS-OCT imaging of human and rat retinas.
• Generation of PS-OCT images with contrast derived from birefringence and depolarization.
• Demonstrated enhanced tissue discrimination and quantitative measurement capabilities compared to standard OCT.

Conclusions:

• The developed passive PS-OCT system provides a simpler and more cost-effective approach to functional optical imaging.
• The system enables advanced imaging of retinal tissues, offering improved diagnostic potential through birefringence and depolarization contrast.
• This technology advances high-speed, polarization-sensitive imaging for biomedical applications.