Angle-resolved optical coherence tomography with sequential angular selectivity for speckle reduction.
We present a novel method for rapidly acquiring optical coherence tomography (OCT) images at multiple backscattering angles. By angularly compounding these images, high levels of speckle reduction were achieved. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvements of 3.4 dB were obtained from a homogeneous tissue phantom, which was in good agreement with the predictions of a statistical model of speckle that incorporated the optical parameters of the imaging system. In addition, the fast acquisition rate of the system (10 kHz A-line repetition rate) allowed angular compounding to be performed in vivo without significant motion artifacts. Speckle-reduced OCT images of human dermis show greatly improved delineation of tissue microstructure.
Desjardins
A E
AE
Harvard Medical School and Wellman Center of Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital 50 Blossom Street, BAR-708, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA. adesjard@fas.harvard.edu
Vakoc
B J
BJ
Oh
W Y
WY
Motaghiannezam
S M
SM
Tearney
G J
GJ
Bouma
B E
BE