Ultrahigh-speed non-invasive widefield angiography

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Biomedical Imaging
• Medical Devices

Background:

• Retinal and choroidal vascular imaging is crucial for diagnosing ocular diseases like age-related macular degeneration.
• Current gold standard, fluorescence angiography, has limitations.
• Need for non-invasive imaging alternatives with high resolution and field of view.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a non-invasive alternative for retinal and choroidal vascular imaging using functional Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (OCT).
• To demonstrate ultrahigh-speed OCT imaging capabilities for improved diagnostic benefits.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Fourier domain mode locking swept source technology for ultrahigh-speed OCT.
• Achieved A-scan rates up to 1.68 MHz.
• Employed 1060 nm wavelength for enhanced choroidal penetration.

Main Results:

• Presented a retinal angiogram over ~48 degrees in a few seconds.
• Acquired images in a single recording without stitching, minimizing motion artifacts.
• Demonstrated efficient, separate characterization of retinal and choroidal vascularization.

Conclusions:

• Ultrahigh-speed OCT provides a promising non-invasive alternative to angiography for ocular vascular imaging.
• The developed OCT method enables high-quality, wide-field imaging of retinal and choroidal vasculature.
• This technology has significant potential for diagnosing and monitoring eye diseases.