Three-dimensional wide-field optical coherence tomography using an ultrahigh-speed CMOS camera

We demonstrated wide-field optical coherence tomography (OCT) using an ultrahigh-speed CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) camera. We obtained en face OCT images (512 × 512 pixels) at 1500 frames per second by calculating two sequential images. Three-dimensional imaging was achieved by switching the illumination on and off at the same frequency as the beat signal generated by the axial scan in the reference arm to avoid decreasing the interference components in the camera output. A sample volume of 2.6 × 2.6 × 1.2 (x × y × z) mm³ (corresponding to 512 × 512 × 375 pixels) was imaged in 0.25 s in a single axial scan in the reference arm. We successfully imaged the human finger in vivo with a sensitivity of 73 dB, after 10 × 10 pixel averaging.