OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY (OCT) SYSTEM WITH IMPROVED MOTION CONTRAST

摘要

This disclosure relates to the field of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). This disclosure particularly relates to an OCT system with improved motion contrast. This disclosure particularly relates to motion contrast methods for such OCT systems. The OCT system of this disclosure may have a configuration that scans a physical object, which has a surface and a depth, with a beam of light that has a beam width and a direction; acquires OCT signals from the scan; forms at least one A-scan using the acquired OCT signals; forms at least one B-scan cluster set using the acquired OCT signals that includes at least two B-scan clusters that each include at least two B-scans. The B-scans within each B-scan cluster set are parallel to one another and parallel to the direction of the beam of light. The OCT system may have a configuration that calculates OCT motion contrast using the at least one B-scan cluster set. This OCT system may form and display an image of the physical object.

主权项

1. An optical coherence tomography (OCT) system having a configuration that:
scans a physical object, which has a surface and a depth, with a beam of light that has a beam width and a direction; acquires OCT signals from the scan; forms at least one B-scan cluster set using the acquired OCT signals such that:
each B-scan cluster set includes at least two B-scan clusters;each B-scan cluster includes at least two B-scans;the B-scans within each B-scan cluster set are parallel to one another and parallel to the direction of the beam of light;each B-scan, each B-scan cluster, and each B-scan cluster set are formed at a different time than all other B-scans, B-scan clusters, and B-scan cluster sets, respectively;each B-scan within each B-scan cluster is separated from any next formed B-scan within that B-scan cluster by a distance (“intra-cluster distance”) in the range of 0 to half of the beam width;the last formed B-scan within each B-scan cluster is separated from the first formed B-scan within any next formed B-scan cluster (“inter-cluster distance”) by at least one micrometer; and uses all or a fraction of the B-scans within each B-scan cluster set to calculate OCT motion contrast for each B-scan cluster set; and registers the calculated OCT motion contrast as the OCT motion contrast of one of the B-scan clusters within each B-scan cluster set.