Faculty Bibliography

The design of a multi-functional fiber-based Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) system for human retinal imaging with < 2 micron axial resolution in tissue is described. A detailed noise characterization of two supercontinuum light sources with different pulse repetition rates is presented. The higher repetition rate and lower noise source is found to enable a sensitivity of 96 dB with 0.15 mW light power at the cornea and a 98 microsecond exposure time. Using a broadband (560 ± 50 nm), 90/10, fused single-mode fiber coupler designed for visible wavelengths, the sample arm is integrated into an ophthalmoscope platform, similar to current clinical OCT systems. To demonstrate the instrument's range of operation, in vivo structural retinal imaging is also shown at 0.15 mW exposure with 10,000 and 70,000 axial scans per second (the latter comparable to commercial OCT systems), and at 0.03 mW exposure and 10,000 axial scans per second (below maximum permissible continuous exposure levels). Lastly, in vivo spectroscopic imaging of anatomy, saturation, and hemoglobin content in the human retina is also demonstrated.

Interferometric near-infrared spectroscopy (iNIRS) is a new technique that measures time-of-flight- (TOF-) resolved autocorrelations in turbid media, enabling simultaneous estimation of optical and dynamical properties. Here, we demonstrate reflectance-mode iNIRS for noninvasive monitoring of a mouse brain in vivo. A method for more precise quantification with less static interference from superficial layers, based on separating static and dynamic components of the optical field autocorrelation, is presented. Absolute values of absorption, reduced scattering, and blood flow index (BFI) are measured, and changes in BFI and absorption are monitored during a hypercapnic challenge. Absorption changes from TOF-resolved iNIRS agree with absorption changes from continuous wave NIRS analysis, based on TOF-integrated light intensity changes, an effective path length, and the modified Beer-Lambert Law. Thus, iNIRS is a promising approach for quantitative and noninvasive monitoring of perfusion and optical properties in vivo.

Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA) refers to a powerful class of OCT scanning protocols and algorithms that selectively enhance the imaging of blood vessel lumens, based mainly on the motion and scattering of red blood cells (RBCs). Though OCTA is widely used in clinical and basic science applications for visualization of perfused blood vessels, OCTA is still primarily a