Optical Coherence Tomography: Modeling and Applications

An analytical model is presented that is able to describe the performance of OCT systems in both the single and multiple scattering regimes simultaneously. This model inherently includes the shower curtain effect, well-known for light propagation through the atmosphere. This effect has been omitted in previous theoretical models of OCT systems. It is demonstrated that the shower curtain effect is of utmost importance in the theoretical description of an OCT system. The analytical model, together with proper noise analysis of the OCT system, enables calculation of the SNR, where the optical properties of the tissue are taken into account. Furthermore, by using the model, it is possible to determine the lateral resolution of OCT systems at arbitrary depths in the scattering tissue. During the Ph.D. thesis project, an OCT system has been constructed, and the theoretical model is verified experimentally using this system. A demonstration of the imaging capabilities of the OCT system is given. Moreover, a novel truereflection OCT imaging algorithm, based on the new OCT model presented in this thesis, is demonstrated. Finally, a theoretical analysis of the Wigner phase-space distribution function for the OCT geometry, i.e., reflection geometry, is developed. As in the new OCT model, multiple scattered photons has been taken into account together with multiple scattering effects. As an important result, a novel method of creating images based on measurements of the momentum width of the Wigner phase-space distribution is presented, and compared with conventional OCT. This thesis is submitted to the Technical University of Denmark as part of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Physics. ISBN 87—550—2771—7; 87—550—2882—9 (Internet) ISSN 0106—2840 Print: Danka Services International A/S, 2001