Passive component based multifunctional Jones matrix swept source optical coherence tomography for Doppler and...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Optics
• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a powerful imaging modality.
• Existing OCT systems often require complex setups for advanced functional imaging.
• Simultaneous Doppler and polarization imaging can reveal crucial physiological and structural information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel fiber-based multifunctional Jones matrix swept source OCT (SS-OCT) system.
• To demonstrate simultaneous Doppler and polarization imaging capabilities.
• To validate the system's performance using phantoms and in vivo retinal imaging.

Main Methods:

• Utilized incident polarization multiplexing and polarization diversity detection for Jones matrix measurement.
• Integrated Doppler flow measurement without requiring phase-stabilized SS-OCT hardware.
• Employed a fiber-based swept source OCT architecture.

Main Results:

• Successfully measured Jones matrix for polarization sensitivity without active components.
• Achieved accurate Doppler flow measurements alongside polarization information.
• Demonstrated high-resolution imaging of retinal vasculature and birefringent structures in vivo.

Conclusions:

• The developed SS-OCT system offers a versatile and hardware-efficient platform for multimodal imaging.
• Simultaneous Doppler and polarization imaging provides comprehensive insights into tissue microvasculature and birefringence.
• This technology holds potential for enhanced diagnosis and monitoring in ophthalmology and beyond.