Multi-scale and -contrast sensorless adaptive optics optical coherence tomography.

BACKGROUND

The roles of the retinal microvasculature and the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in maintaining the health and metabolic activity of the retina lend great clinical value to their high-resolution visualization.

METHODS

By integrating polarization diversity detection (PDD) into multi-scale and -contrast sensorless adaptive optics optical coherence tomography (MSC-SAO-OCT), we have developed a novel multi-contrast SAO OCT system for imaging pigment in the RPE as well as flow in the retinal capillaries using OCT angiography (OCTA). Aberration correction was performed based on the image quality using transmissive deformable optical elements.

RESULTS

MSC-SAO-OCTA imaging was performed at multiple fields-of-view (FOVs) with adjustable numerical aperture (NA). Retinal flow and RPE structural images for healthy and pathological human posterior eyes were demonstrated to show clinical feasibility of the system.

CONCLUSIONS

High-resolution imaging of retinal vasculature at both large and small FOVs, as well as characterization of RPE topology and deformation, enables more sophisticated and concise investigation of retinal pathologies for human imaging. MSC imaging may permit detection and analysis of even subtle deformations in the RPE layer using a single instrument.