Design and Simulation of an Ultrahigh-resolution Spectral-domain Optical Coherence Tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a biomedical imaging technique used to achieve high-resolution images from human tissues in a noninvasive manner.

In this article, a practical approach is proposed for designing ultrahigh-resolution spectral-domain OCT (UHR SD-OCT) devices. At first, block diagram of a typical SD-OCT is introduced in detail. At second, internal components of each arm are introduced where the key parameters of each component are highlighted. At third, the effects of these key parameters on the overall performance of the UHR SD-OCT are investigated in a comprehensive manner. At fourth, the most important requirements of a UHR SD-OCT are explained, where suitable optical equipment is selected for each arm based on these requirements. At fifth, optical accessories as well as the electrical devices required for managing and control of the performance of a UHR SD-OCT are introduced in brief.

Performance of the proposed device is assessed through various simulations, and finally, the implementation cost and implementation challenges are investigated in detail.

Simulation results indicate that the proposed UHR SD-OCT has acceptable axial resolution and imaging depth; hence, it is a good candidate for use in retinal applications that require UHR imaging.