title: Choriocapillaris and choroidal microvasculature imaging with ultrahigh speed OCT angiography.
abstract: We demonstrate in vivo choriocapillaris and choroidal microvasculature imaging in normal human subjects using optical coherence tomography (OCT). An ultrahigh speed swept source OCT prototype at 1060 nm wavelengths with a 400 kHz A-scan rate is developed for three-dimensional ultrahigh speed imaging of the posterior eye. OCT angiography is used to image three-dimensional vascular structure without the need for exogenous fluorophores by detecting erythrocyte motion contrast between OCT intensity cross-sectional images acquired rapidly and repeatedly from the same location on the retina. En face OCT angiograms of the choriocapillaris and choroidal vasculature are visualized by acquiring cross-sectional OCT angiograms volumetrically via raster scanning and segmenting the three-dimensional angiographic data at multiple depths below the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Fine microvasculature of the choriocapillaris, as well as tightly packed networks of feeding arterioles and draining venules, can be visualized at different en face depths. Panoramic ultra-wide field stitched OCT angiograms of the choriocapillaris spanning ∼32 mm on the retina show distinct vascular structures at different fundus locations. Isolated smaller fields at the central fovea and ∼6 mm nasal to the fovea at the depths of the choriocapillaris and Sattler's layer show vasculature structures consistent with established architectural morphology from histological and electron micrograph corrosion casting studies. Choriocapillaris imaging was performed in eight healthy volunteers with OCT angiograms successfully acquired from all subjects. These results demonstrate the feasibility of ultrahigh speed OCT for in vivo dye-free choriocapillaris and choroidal vasculature imaging, in addition to conventional structural imaging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: WooJhon
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America ; Lehrstuhl für BioMolekulare Optik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Kathrin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Mohler
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America ; Advanced Imaging Group, Thorlabs, Inc., Newton, New Jersey, United States of America.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Potsaid
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Chen D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jonathan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Praevium Research Inc., Santa Barbara, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Vijaysekhar
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Jayaraman
authors.affiliation: Advanced Imaging Group, Thorlabs, Inc., Newton, New Jersey, United States of America.
authors.forename: Alex E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Cable
authors.affiliation: New England Eye Center and Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jay S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Duker
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für BioMolekulare Optik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huber
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: James G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005123:Eye / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult