Spatio-Temporal Optical Coherence Tomography provides full thickness imaging of the chorioretinal complex

Despite the rapid development of optical imaging methods, high-resolution in vivo imaging with penetration into deeper tissue layers is still a major challenge. Optical
Coherence Tomography (OCT) has been used successfully for non-invasive human retinal volumetric imaging in vivo , advancing the detection, diagnosis, and monitoring of various retinal diseases. However, there are important limitations of volumetric OCT imaging, especially coherent noise and the limited axial range over which high resolution images can be acquired. The limited range prevents simultaneous measurement of the retina and choroid with adequate lateral resolution. In this article, we address these limitations with a technique that we term Spatio- Temporal Optical Coherence Tomography (STOC-T), which uses light with controlled spatial and temporal coherence and advanced signal processing methods. STOC-T enabled the acquisition of high-contrast and high-resolution coronal projection images of the retina and choroid at arbitrary depths.

尽管光学成像技术发展迅猛，但实现可穿透深层组织的高分辨率活体（in vivo）成像仍是一项核心挑战。光学相干断层扫描（Optical Coherence Tomography，OCT）已成功应用于无创人体视网膜活体体积成像，推动了多种视网膜疾病的检测、诊断与监测工作。然而，体积式OCT成像存在显著局限，尤其是相干噪声问题，以及可获取高分辨率图像的轴向范围受限。这种有限的轴向范围使得无法同时以足够的横向分辨率对视网膜与脉络膜进行成像测量。本文提出一种命名为时空光学相干断层扫描（Spatio-Temporal Optical Coherence Tomography，STOC-T）的技术，通过采用空间与时间相干性可控的光源以及先进的信号处理方法，解决了上述局限。STOC-T可实现任意深度下视网膜与脉络膜的高对比度、高分辨率冠状投影成像。