Swept Source Ophthalmic Optical Coherence Tomography

描述(由申请人提供)本第一阶段小型企业创新研究申请提出通过开发一种新型的扫描源OCT(SS-OCT)系统来显著推进用于成像和检测视网膜病变的光学相干断层扫描(OCT)技术，该系统与当前技术状态相比表现出相当大的改进。与传统的时域OCT(TD-OCT)系统相比，SS-OCT在灵敏度和稳健性方面具有显著的优势，但由于缺乏合适的扫频光源，这项技术的发展受到了严重阻碍。通过与我们的分包商开发的新型S泪光S光源设计合作，我们的顾问展示了SS-OCT在通常用于非眼科成像的1.3微米波长范围内优于TD-OCT的性能，现在我们建议在800 nm范围内开发一种类似的视网膜成像系统。如果成功，该系统将拥有比商用视网膜OCT扫描仪(视网膜5微米半高宽轴向分辨率)更高的分辨率，以及显著更高的SNR，这将使通过不透明介质进行成像和首次进行实时视网膜成像成为可能。实时视网膜成像在改善视网膜层(如视网膜神经纤维层、神经节细胞层)定位、三维视网膜图像获取和实时手术指导等方面具有重要的临床应用价值。我们的研究人员、分包商和顾问团队包括光电子元件制造(OCT技术的基础)、光学传感方面的专家，以及用于视网膜和眼前段成像的OCT系统的原始开发商之一。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) This Phase I Small Business Innovative Research application proposes to significantly advance optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology for imaging and detection of retinal pathologies by developing a novel swept source OCT (SS-OCT) system, which exhibits considerable improvements over the current state of the art. SS-OCT has recently been demonstrated to have significant advantages in sensitivity and robustness compared to conventional time-domain OCT (TD-OCT) systems, however the development of this technology has been severely hampered by a lack of suitable swept 1aser sources. Working with a novel s wept s ource 1aser design developed b y our subcontractor, our consultants have demonstrated the superior performance of SS-OCT over TD-OCT in the 1.3 micron wavelength region commonly used for non-ophthalmic imaging, and now we propose to develop a similar system in the 800 nm region for retinal imaging. If successful, this system will have superior resolution compared to commercially available retinal OCT scanners (<5 micron FWHM axial resolution in the retina), as well as significantly greater SNR, which will enable imaging through opaque media and real-time retinal imaging for the first time. Real-time retinal imaging has significant potential clinical applications including improved retinal layer mapping (e.g. retinal nerve fiber layer, ganglion cell layer), three-dimensional retinal image acquisition, and real-time intrasurgical guidance. Our team of investigators, subcontractors, and consultants includes experts in optoelectronic component manufacturing (the basis of OCT technology), optical sensing, and one of the original developers of OCT systems for retinal and anterior segment imaging.