title: Parabolic BM-scan technique for full range Doppler spectral domain optical coherence tomography.
abstract: A full range spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) technique that relies on the linear phase modulation of one of the interferometer arms has been widely utilized. Although this method is useful, the mirror image elimination is not perfect for samples in which regions with high axial motion exist. In this paper, we introduce a new modulation pattern to overcome this mirror image elimination failure. This new modulation is a parabolic phase modulation in the transverse scanning direction, and is applied to the SD-OCT reference beam by an electro-optic modulator. Flow phantom and in vivo experiments demonstrate that for moving structures with large velocities, this parabolic phase modulation technique presents better mirror image elimination than a standard linear phase modulation method. A direct consequence of this enhanced mirror image removal is an improved velocity range obtained with phase-resolved Doppler imaging. Consequently, applying the proposed technique in retinal blood flow measurements may be useful for ophthalmologic diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Computational Optics Group in the University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. franck.jaillon@optlab2.bk.tsukuba.ac.jp
authors.forename: Franck
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jaillon
authors.forename: Shuichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Makita
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yabusaki
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yasuno
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*