Size correction and deep image optimization in optical coherence tomography angiography with structural...

Tail artifact elimination is essential in optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) for the artifacts will prevent the reconstruction of the 3D vessel image. The tail artifacts of superficial vessels obscure the deep vascular signals and cause the signals at different depths to mix with each other. Most tail artifact elimination methods can shorten the tails but have difficulty in determining the lower boundary of the vessels. In this letter, we introduce a technique to extract vascular signals with more accurate vascular boundaries. With the help of structural image, our method can reconstruct the 3D image of the vascular network more precisely and perform better in deep areas. The images of vessels of palm are used to compare our new technique with previous common parts extraction method experimentally. The results show that our method removes the tail artifacts more thoroughly and has a significant advantage in imaging deep vessels.