Dual-beam-scan Doppler optical coherence angiography for birefringence-artifact-free vasculature imaging

Abstract

Dual-beam-scan Doppler optical coherence angiography (DB-OCA) enables high-speed, high-sensitivity blood flow imaging. However, birefringence of biological tissues is an obstacle to vasculature imaging. Here, the influence of polarization and birefringence on DB-OCA imaging was analyzed. A DB-OCA system without birefringence artifact has been developed by introducing a Faraday rotator. The performance was confirmed in vitro using chicken muscle and in vivo using the human eye. Birefringence artifacts due to birefringent tissues were suppressed. Micro-vasculatures in the lamina cribrosa and nerve fiber layer of human eyes were visualized in vivo. High-speed and high-sensitivity micro-vasculature imaging involving birefringent tissues is available with polarization multiplexing DB-OCA.