Ghost reduction in CP-SSOCT having multiple references using Fourier-domain Shift and Sum.

Area of Science:

• Optical Coherence Tomography
• Metrology
• Image Processing

Background:

• Common-path spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) systems often employ lenses that create multiple reference planes due to Fresnel reflections.
• These multiple reference planes lead to ghost image artifacts, which are overlapping, superimposed OCT images.
• These artifacts arise from identical images with varying amplitudes and spatial shifts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose, test, and validate a novel Fourier-domain based method for reducing ghost image artifacts.
• To address the issue of overlapping OCT images caused by multiple reference planes in common-path SD-OCT systems.

Main Methods:

• A Fourier-domain based method is developed to correct ghost artifacts.
• The method relies on knowing the relative amplitude and lateral position between reference planes.
• Images are shifted and summed in the Fourier-domain to reconstruct a single, artifact-free image.

Main Results:

• Theoretical framework and numerical simulations demonstrate the method's principle.
• Experimental validation using OCT imaging confirms the potential effectiveness of the proposed technique.
• Successful reduction of ghost image artifacts is achieved.

Conclusions:

• The proposed Fourier-domain method offers an effective solution for ghost artifact reduction in common-path SD-OCT.
• This technique has the potential to improve image quality and diagnostic accuracy in SD-OCT systems with multiple reference planes.