En face optical coherence tomography: a technology review [Invited]
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Integrated Photoacoustic Ophthalmoscopy and Spectral-domain Optical Coherence Tomography
Published on: January 15, 2013
R A Leitgeb1,2
1Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
Abstract:
A review on the technological development of en face optical coherence tomography (OCT) and optical coherence microscopy (OCM) is provided. The terminology originally referred to time domain OCT, where the preferential scanning was performed in the en face plane. Potentially the fastest realization of en face image recording is full-field OCT, where the full en face plane is illuminated and recorded simultaneously. The term has nowadays been adopted for high-speed Fourier domain approaches, where the en face image is reconstructed from full 3D volumes either by direct slicing or through axial projection in post processing. The success of modern en face OCT lies in its immediate and easy image interpretation, which is in particular of advantage for OCM or OCT angiography. Applications of en face OCT with a focus on ophthalmology are presented. The review concludes by outlining exciting technological prospects of en face OCT based both on time as well as on Fourier domain OCT.
Related Concept Videos
Review and Preview
Percentiles are a type of fractile that partition data into...
Review and Preview
Hybridoma Technology
Hybridoma Selection
Commonly used fusion techniques — electroporation,...
Health Information Technology and Healthcare Information System
Health Information Technology, commonly called HIT, integrates advanced information systems and technology in healthcare settings. Its primary functions include:
Computed Tomography
The technique was invented in the 1970s and is based on the principle that as X-rays pass through the body, they are absorbed or reflected at different levels. In the technique, a patient lies on a motorized platform while a computerized axial tomography (CAT) scanner rotates...
Positron Emission Tomography
One of the main requirements of a PET scan is a positron-emitting radioisotope, which is produced in a cyclotron and then attached to a substance used by the part of the body...

