ABSTRACT

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is rapidly becoming an established medical imaging technique for capturing high-resolution, two- (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) images from optically scattering media such as biological tissue. Today, commercially available optical coherence tomography systems are employed for many diverse applications of diagnostic medicine. With OCT, an optical beam is directed into the tissue and the light scattered or reflected from the microstructure at different depths is measured using interferometry. The standard method of OCT is to use white light interferometry or LCI, where light from the light source is split into two branches, one interacting with the sample and the other passing through a reference branch. Light from a broadband light source, typically a superluminescent light-emitting diode located in the input branch of the Michelson interferometer, is coupled into a single-mode optical fiber. The technique of optical coherence tomography, despite being a relatively new diagnostic technique for medical applications, has already become established as a vital clinical tool.