Polarization-maintaining buffered Fourier domain mode-locked swept source for optical coherence tomography

A polarization-maintaining buffered Fourier domain mode-locked (FDML) swept source with a center wavelength of 1300 nm is demonstrated. The scanning rate of the buffered FDML swept source is doubled without sacrificing the output power of the swept source by combining two orthogonally polarized outputs with a polarization beam combiner. The stability of the swept source is improved because the polarization state of the laser beam inside the laser cavity is maintained without the use of any polarization controllers. The swept source is capable of an edge-to-edge tuning range of more than 150 nm and a FWHM range of 95 nm at a 102 kHz sweeping rate and with an average power of 12 mW. A swept source optical coherence tomography (SSOCT) system is developed utilizing this buffered FDML swept source. The axial resolution of the SSOCT system is measured to be 9.4 μm in air. The sensitivity of the SSOCT system is 107.5 dB at a depth of 0.25 mm with a 6 dB roll-off at a depth of 2.25 mm.     

扫频光学相干层析成像系统的波数校正与相位测量研究

相位敏感光学相干层析成像(OCT)系统可以用于高灵敏度的相位探测,在细胞分析、材料检测等方面具有重要应用,但扫频光源的不稳定性会影响扫频OCT系统的相位测量精度.本文提出了一种基于马赫-曾德尔干涉仪(MZI)时域相位信息的波数校正方法.利用MZI时域包裹相位的互相关运算确定各采集波数序列的相对偏移量,鉴于时域包裹相位的非严格周期特征,可确定偏移量的大小不受限制.依据相对偏移量对各序列信号进行时域同步,并基于同步后的MZI时域解包裹相位实施待测干涉信号在位相域的等间隔重采样.基于所提出的波数校正方法,实施了各扫频序列波数偏移量的校正,开展了基于位相信息的光程重复性测量实验.结果表明,即使在不稳定扫频光源的前提下,也能获得高精度的相位测量结果.     

基于法布里-珀罗调谐滤波器的傅里叶域锁模扫频激光光源

报道了一个光纤型1300 nm波段的傅里叶域锁模(Fourier domain mode locking, FDML)扫频激光光源, 用于扫频光学相干层析成像技术 (optical coherence tomography, OCT) 成像. 本实验扫频激光光源采用包含增益介质、调谐滤波器和延迟线组成的长腔激光谐振腔以及光功率增强单元. FDML扫频激光光源具有快速和高度稳定运转模式, 相位稳定性好. 基于法布里-珀罗调谐滤波器(fiber Fabry-Perot tunable filter, FFP-TF)的FDML扫频激光光源扫频范围为130 nm, 半高全宽为70 nm, 输出平均功率是11 mW. 与基于FFP-TF的短腔的扫频光源做了对比研究, FDML扫频光源速度从短腔的8 kHz提高到了48.12 kHz, 对应生物组织OCT成像轴向分辨率为7.8 μm, 比短腔的减小了1.9 μm. 关键词： 光学相干层析技术 扫频激光光源 傅里叶域锁模 法布里-珀罗调谐滤波器     

Passive component based multifunctional Jones matrix swept source optical coherence tomography for Doppler and polarization imaging

We present a fiber based multifunctional Jones matrix swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) system for Doppler and polarization imaging. Jones matrix measurement without using active components such as electro-optic modulators is realized by incident polarization multiplexing based on independent delay of two orthogonal polarization states and polarization diversity detection. In addition to polarization sensitivity, this system measures Doppler flow without extra hardware for phase stabilized SS-OCT detection. An eighth-wave plate was measured to demonstrate the polarization detection accuracy. The optic nerve head of a retina was measured in vivo. Detailed vasculature and birefringent structures were investigated simultaneously.     

Simultaneous swept source optical coherence tomography of the anterior segment and retina using coherence revival

We report on an implementation of coherence revival-based heterodyne swept source optical coherence tomography that is capable of simultaneously imaging the anterior and posterior eye. A polarization-encoded sample arm was used to efficiently focus orthogonal polarizations on the anterior segment and retina. Depth encoding was achieved using coherence revival, which allows for multiple depths within a sample to be simultaneously imaged and frequency encoded by carefully controlling the optical pathlength of each sample path. This design is a significant step toward whole-eye optical coherence tomography (OCT), which would enable customized ray-traced modeling of patient eyes to improve refractive surgical interventions and eliminate optical artifacts in retinal OCT diagnostics. We demonstrated the feasibility of this system for in vivo imaging by simultaneously acquiring images of the anterior segments and retinas in healthy human volunteers.     

Real time en face Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography with direct hardware frequency demodulation

We demonstrate en face swept source optical coherence tomography (ss-OCT) without requiring a Fourier transformation step. The electronic optical coherence tomography (OCT) interference signal from a k-space linear Fourier domain mode-locked laser is mixed with an adjustable local oscillator, yielding the analytic reflectance signal from one image depth for each frequency sweep of the laser. Furthermore, a method for arbitrarily shaping the spectral intensity profile of the laser is presented, without requiring the step of numerical apodization. In combination, these two techniques enable sampling of the in-phase and quadrature signal with a slow analog-to-digital converter and allow for real-time display of en face projections even for highest axial scan rates. Image data generated with this technique is compared to en face images extracted from a three-dimensional OCT data set. This technique can allow for real-time visualization of arbitrarily oriented en face planes for the purpose of alignment, registration, or operator-guided survey scans while simultaneously maintaining the full capability of high-speed volumetric ss-OCT functionality.     

Dual-core ytterbium fiber amplifier for high-power 1060 nm swept source multichannel optical coherence tomography imaging

A novel (to our knowledge) dual-core ytterbium (Yb(3+)) doped fiber, as an optically pumped amplifier, boosts the output power from a 1060 nm swept source laser beyond 250 mW, while providing a wavelength tuning range of 93 nm, for optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. The design of the dual-core Yb-doped fiber amplifier and its multiple wavelength optical pumping scheme to optimize output bandwidth are discussed. Use of the dual-core fiber amplifier showed no appreciable degradation to the coherence length of the seed laser. The signal intensity improvement of this amplifier is demonstrated on a multichannel in vivo OCT imaging system at 1060 nm.     

双光栅快速扫描光学延迟线的色散补偿

光学相干层析成像(OCT)系统的纵向分辨力不仅与光源的带宽有关,而且与系统中两干涉臂间的色散匹配有关。如果色散没有得到精确匹配,将使光学相干层析成像系统的纵向分辨力达不到所预期的理论值。色散问题在超高分辨光学相干层析成像系统中尤为突出。提出了一种基于双光栅快速扫描光学延迟线(RSOD),用于光学相干层析成像系统的色散补偿。该方法中新增的光栅引入了光栅间距这一独立变量,其与常规单光栅快速扫描光学延迟线机构中的光栅离焦量一起,可使光学相干层析成像系统中的群速度色散(GVD)和三阶色散(TOD)同时得到补偿。分析了双光栅快速扫描光学延迟线的色散特性和色散调节原则,并提供了一个典型光学相干层析成像系统中的色散补偿实例。     

Development of phase-stabilized swept-source OCT for the ultrasensitive quantification of microbubbles

This paper describes the development of a novel-phase resolved system based on swept-source optical-coherence tomography (SSOCT) for the ultrasensitive imaging and monitoring of gas microbubbles in aqueous media. The developed phase-stabilized SSOCT (PhS-SSOCT) system has an axial resolution of 10 μm, a phase sensitivity of 0.03 rad, an imaging depth of up to 6 mm in air, and a scanning speed of 20 kHz for a single A line. The performance of the sensing system was evaluated in water-containing gas microbubbles with a different diameter. The obtained results demonstrate that bubbles with a diameter greater than 10 μm could be detected by both structural imaging and phase response, whereas bubbles with diameters of less than 10 μm could be detected by the phase response of the SSOCT with a high sensitivity. The accuracy for the measurement of the diameter of gas microbubbles is limited to 10 μm in structural imaging and 0.01 μm in phase-sensitive monitoring. The results from this study indicate that PhS-SSOCT could be used to detect fast-moving microbubbles in aqueous solutions and ultimately could be applied for rapid assessment in biofluids (e.g., blood) and tissues (e.g., skin) in vivo.     

多面转镜激光器扫频光学相干层析成像系统的全光谱重采样方法

在多面转镜激光器扫频光学相干层析成像系统中,激光器存在着输出光谱错位与扫频范围波动的问题.目前的重采样方法中,普遍利用互相关运算校正光谱错位,并进行大范围的截取,保证扫频范围的一致性,但这会导致成像信噪比与分辨率的降低.本文用马赫-曾德尔干涉仪(MZI)采集到的干涉信号对扫频范围波动的问题进行了详细的测量与分析,其中干涉信号的解缠相位曲线的非随机性和平行性,表明该类激光器输出光谱的波长分布具备一致性.在此基础上,提出了一种用最长扫频范围的MZI干涉信号,对样品干涉信号进行时域光谱对齐、然后进行一对多插值的重采样方法.实验与分析表明,该方法利用了所有的光谱信号,保证了样品干涉信号的能量利用率,能有效提高图像的信噪比与分辨率.     

低相干光断层扫描系统的噪声分析与研究

低相干光断层扫描,是近十几年来发展起来集多种前沿科学和技术为一体的超高精度成像技术。介绍了该技术的理论原理及本实验室建立的基于时域线性调制和光纤迈克耳孙干涉仪的低相干光断层扫描系统并给出了初步的实验结果。重点对光源谱型和参考臂扫描速度不均匀性对系统输出信噪比的影响进行了理论模拟计算和实验研究。通过运用傅里叶频谱的分析方法,从工程设计的角度出发给出了基于实验结果的参量特性分析以及这些特性将会给实际光学相干层析系统测量结果带来的影响,从而获得了低相干光断层扫描系统改进的方法。     

Imaging through scattering medium by recording 3D “spatial-frequential” interferograms

Speed acquisition for image formation process through scattering medium is a challenge in optical coherence tomography (OCT) approach. Besides time domain (TD), spectral Fourier domain (FD) is now widely studied. By using a swept laser source, we demonstrate that a particular time domain OCT method (optical SISAM correlator) can be simultaneously implemented in a single set-up with the corresponding Fourier domain OCT approach (spectral interferometry). Then, FD-OCT and TD-OCT signals are obtained by processing a 3D “spatial-frequential” interferences pattern. We show that these two numerical approaches can be complementary when imaging in scattering medium is achieved.     

Simultaneous dual-wavelength-band common-path swept-source optical coherence tomography with single polygon mirror scanner

We report a novel (to the best of our knowledge) simultaneous 1310/1550 two-wavelength band swept laser source and dual-band common-path swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). Synchronized dual-wavelength tuning is performed by using two laser cavities and narrowband wavelength filters with a single dual-window polygonal scanner. Measured average output powers of 60 and 27 mW have been achieved for the 1310 and 1550 nm bands, respectively, while the two wavelengths were swept simultaneously from 1227 to 1387 nm for the 1310 nm band and from 1519 to 1581 nm for the 1550 nm band at an A-scan rate of 65 kHz. Broadband wavelength-division multiplexing is used for coupling two wavelengths into a common-path single-mode GRIN-lensed fiber probe to form dual-band common-path SS-OCT. Simultaneous OCT imaging at 1310 and 1550 nm is achieved. This technique allows for in vivo high-speed OCT imaging with potential application in functional (spectroscopic) investigations.     

Estimation of shear wave velocity in gelatin phantoms utilizing PhS-SSOCT

We report a method for measuring shear wave velocity in soft materials using phase stabilized swept source optical coherence tomography (PhS-SSOCT). Wave velocity was measured in phantoms with various concentrations of gelatin and therefore different stiffness. Mechanical waves of small amplitudes (??10 ??m) were induced by applying local mechanical excitation at the surface of the phantom. Using the phase-resolved method for displacement measurement described here, the wave velocity was measured at various spatially distributed points on the surface of the tissue-mimicking gelatin-based phantom. The measurements confirmed an anticipated increase in the shear wave velocity with an increase in the gelatin concentrations. Therefore, by combining the velocity measurements with previously reported measurements of the wave amplitude, viscoelastic mechanical properties of the tissue such as cornea and lens could potentially be measured.     

基于最优化线性波数光谱仪的谱域光学相干层析成像系统

相比传统光谱仪,基于线性波数光谱仪的谱域光学相干层析(OCT)无需对非线性波数干涉光谱数据进行重采样和插值,可大大减少数据计算量并提高成像灵敏度.通过模拟计算干涉光谱信号和点扩散函数,以点扩散函数半峰全宽值的倒数作为评价准则,可以优化包括色散棱镜材料的折射率、顶角角度以及衍射光栅和色散棱镜之间旋转角角度的线性波数光谱仪的结构参数.根据优化结果,实验中选用F2玻璃等边色散棱镜,以光栅-棱镜间旋转角角度为21.8°搭建了最优化线性波数光谱仪,并引入谱域OCT成像系统.实验测得成像系统的轴向分辨率达到8.52μm,灵敏度达到91 dB,6 dB成像深度达到1.2 mm.结合具有通用并行计算能力的图形处理卡,在无需重采样和插值的情况下可实时处理和显示人手指指甲皮肤接缝处的横断面OCT图像,验证了基于最优化线性波数光谱仪的谱域OCT系统的成像性能.     

利用变迹术和相干门相结合实现光学相干层析成像术轴向超分辨

光学相十层析成像（光学相干层析成像术）的轴向分辨力由光源带宽和探测光束的聚焦条件共同决定。提高光学相干层析成像术轴向分辨力的方法主要基于带宽光源技术。提出了一种将变迹术与光学相十层析成像术相干门有机结合的方法来提高其轴向分辨力。通过适当形式的光瞳滤波器．使光学相干层析成像术系统轴向响应的主瓣宽度缩小到相干门之内,而其旁瓣则处于相干门之外．不对相干成像产生有效贡献。这样．就能在光源带宽不变的条件下,有效提高光学相十层析成像术的轴向分辨力,避免了采用宽带光源所带来的费用昂贵和系统复杂等缺陷。     

Real-time quadrature projection complex conjugate resolved Fourier domain optical coherence tomography

We present a novel algorithm for full-range imaging by suppression of the complex conjugate artifact in phase-shifting Fourier domain optical coherence tomography. This technique utilizes the projection of multiple phase-shifted interferograms onto an orthogonal basis set to reconstruct the complex interferogram. Full-range imaging with >30 dB suppression of the symmetric artifact is demonstrated using a 3 x 3 fiber coupler swept source OCT system, providing a depth range of 6.6mm with -8 dB roll-off in sensitivity at the depth boundaries relative to DC. Real-time display of full-range images of the anterior segment of the human eye acquired in vivo at a line rate of 6.67 kHz are presented.     

M-mode swept source optical coherence tomography for quantification of salt concentration in blood: An in vitro study

We report the use of M-mode swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) for measuring sodium chloride (NaCl) salt concentrations in liquid phantoms and in drawn whole blood based on temporal dynamics of light scattering. The Brownian motion of scattering particle is affected due to the change in viscosity of liquid. An autocorrelation function was determined from the power spectrum of SS-OCT signal and then was fit by mono and double exponential function to obtain decorrelation time. These translational decorrelation times corresponding to translational diffusion coefficients enabled us to find the controlled viscosity of the medium. The viscosities of the media were compared with literature values and a fair/excellent agreement was observed. Thus, the technique has ability to quantify the salt levels in terms of viscosity in nonflowing medium suspensions and many research routes necessary to determine its potential for in-vivo applications.     

光源对相干层析系统特性的影响

在分析相干层析系统成像机理的基础上，从理论上研究了光源对系统成像特性的影响，在考虑干涉条纹的强度用概率函数处理的条件下，由分析得出相干层析成像系统相当于一个复振幅的线性空间不变系统，从而给出相干函数和光源的功率谱密度之间的关系。通过对使用不同光源的系统相干传递函数比较，得出了采用具有较大线宽的低相干光源，系统的空间分辨率更好，可使测量更精确的结论。本文的工作为光学相干层析成像系统的优化设计提供了理论依据。     

光纤型光学相干层析成像系统的研制

光学相干层析(OCT)成像技术是一新近发展的高分辨力生物医学成像手段,能非侵入性地对活体内部的结构与生理功能进行可视化观察。采用宽带近红外光源,基于迈克耳孙干涉原理和外差探测方法,建立了单模光纤型光学相干层析成像系统,相干地提取从生物体内部返回的深度分辨的弹性散射光信息,并依此构筑了自然状态下活体组织的二维光学相干层析成像图像和三维光学相干层析成像图像。光纤化设计的光学相干层析成像系统紧凑、灵活,便于与光纤导管、内窥镜和其它成像装置的有机结合,以拓展其观察范围和应用领域。