Development of an electro-optically tuned optical coherence tomography system for imaging dental lesions

A conventional optical coherence tomography (OCT) system was set up in-house to image early dental caries, identify gap formation in the bonding interface for restoration and secondary caries. Two-dimensional images of tooth samples was obtained and dental defect were identified. A novel electro-optic tuning system is proposed in order to improve scanning speed and to perform noiseless imaging. Preliminary studies were conducted with two crystals namely, LiNbO3 (Lithium Niobate) and KTP (Potassium Titanyl Phosphate) using a SLED source for OCT system and the simulated and experimental results were found to be qualitatively similar. The tuning range for LiNbO3 and KTP was found to be in the order of few micrometers whereas KTN (Potassium Tantalate Niobate) using the quadratic electro-optic effect is expected to show scanning range of tens of micrometers. KTN based hybrid scanning for dental caries imaging is also planned.