PS-OCT imaging of the anterior segment under different eyeball rotations

Abstract

Eyeball rotation potentially reflects the physiological characteristics of the anterior segment. Understanding the structural changes in the anterior segment during eyeball rotation is essential for gaining deeper insights into the biomechanical processes of eye movement and its impact on visual quality. Using a homemade swept-source polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (SS-PS-OCT) system, we scanned normal human eyes and examined changes in anterior segment tissues during different eyeball rotations. Our analysis of the PS-OCT images revealed the structural and polarization characteristics of the anterior segment, demonstrating that the system possesses high sensitivity in detecting changes in birefringence induced by eyeball rotation, and found that microscopic changes in the anterior segment can be identified by the polarization information. Our results demonstrated that polarization information can enhance the contrast in ophthalmic OCT diagnostics, and proved PS-OCT has significant potential in studying the characteristics of anterior segment tissues and the biomechanical behavior associated with eyeball rotation.