Abstract

In optical coherence tomography (OCT), axial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are typically viewed as uncoupled parameters. We show that this is true only for mirror-like surfaces and that in diffuse scattering samples such as biological tissues there is an inherent coupling between axial resolution and measurement SNR. We explain the origin of this coupling and demonstrate that it can be used to achieve increased imaging penetration depth at the expense of resolution. Finally, we argue that this coupling should be considered during OCT system design processes that seek to balance the competing needs of resolution, sensitivity, and system/source complexity.

© 2022 Optica Publishing Group

High-depth-resolution imaging of dispersive samples using quantum optical coherence tomography

Kyohei Hayama, Bo Cao, Ryo Okamoto, Shun Suezawa, Masayuki Okano, and Shigeki Takeuchi
Opt. Lett. 47(19) 4949-4952 (2022)

Submicrometer axial resolution optical coherence tomography

B. Povazay, K. Bizheva, A. Unterhuber, B. Hermann, H. Sattmann, A. F. Fercher, W. Drexler, A. Apolonski, W. J. Wadsworth, J. C. Knight, P. St. J. Russell, M. Vetterlein, and E. Scherzer
Opt. Lett. 27(20) 1800-1802 (2002)

Full-range optical coherence refraction tomography

Yong Huang, Zhengyu Qiao, Jingsi Chen, Dan Zhang, and Qun Hao
Opt. Lett. 47(4) 894-897 (2022)

Using the dynamic forward scattering signal for optical coherence tomography based blood flow quantification

Ahhyun Stephanie Nam, Boy Braaf, and Benjamin J. Vakoc
Opt. Lett. 47(12) 3083-3086 (2022)

Improved signal-to-noise ratio in spectral-domain compared with time-domain optical coherence tomography

Johannes F. de Boer, Barry Cense, B. Hyle Park, Mark C. Pierce, Guillermo J. Tearney, and Brett E. Bouma
Opt. Lett. 28(21) 2067-2069 (2003)