Balanced-detection visible optical coherence tomography with a low-noise supercontinuum laser

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Optics
• Optical Imaging
• Interferometry

Background:

• Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a valuable non-invasive imaging modality.
• Enhancing sensitivity and reducing noise are critical for improving OCT image quality.
• Visible light OCT offers potential for superficial tissue imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the efficiency of balanced detection in a visible OCT system.
• To showcase noise floor reduction and sensitivity enhancement.
• To validate the performance with phantom and in-vivo imaging.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a visible OCT instrument with a low-noise supercontinuum laser.
• Implemented a novel digital pixel alignment technique for camera calibration.
• Employed balanced detection configuration to minimize noise.
• Operated at a central wavelength of 590 nm.

Main Results:

• Achieved a noise floor reduction of up to 12.8 dB across the imaging depth.
• Demonstrated high sensitivity: 74 dB (single spectrometer) and 92.8 dB (balanced configuration).
• Presented enhanced image contrast in optical phantoms and in-vivo human thumb/nail images.

Conclusions:

• Balanced detection is highly effective for enhancing visible OCT performance.
• The developed digital alignment technique significantly improves noise reduction.
• The system provides high-resolution, high-sensitivity imaging for superficial tissue visualization.