Abstract

Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography provides high-resolution cross-sectional characterization of birefringence in turbid media. Weakly birefringent biological tissues such as the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) require advanced speckle noise reduction for high-sensitivity measurement of form birefringence. We present a novel method for high-sensitivity birefringence quantification by using enhanced polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (EPS-OCT) and introduce the polarimetric signal-to-noise ratio, a mathematical tool for analyzing speckle noise in polarimetry. Multiple incident polarization states and nonlinear fitting of normalized Stokes vectors allow determination of retardation with ±1° uncertainty with invariance to unknown unitary polarization transformations. Results from a weakly birefringent turbid film and in vivo primate RNFL are presented. In addition, we discuss the potential of EPS-OCT for noninvasive quantification of intracellular filamentous nanostructures, such as neurotubules in the RNFL that are lost during the progression of glaucoma.

© 2005 Optical Society of America

Form-biattenuance in fibrous tissues measured with polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT)

Nate J. Kemp, Haitham N. Zaatari, Jesung Park, H. Grady Rylander III, and Thomas E. Milner
Opt. Express 13(12) 4611-4628 (2005)

Complex polarization ratio to determine polarization properties of anisotropic tissue using polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

Jesung Park, Nate J. Kemp, H. Grady Rylander III, and Thomas E. Milner
Opt. Express 17(16) 13402-13417 (2009)

Depth-resolved optic axis orientation in multiple layered anisotropic tissues measured with enhanced polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (EPS-OCT)

Nate J. Kemp, Haitham N. Zaatari, Jesung Park, H. Grady Rylander III, and Thomas E. Milner
Opt. Express 13(12) 4507-4518 (2005)

Primate retina imaging with polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

Mathieu G. Ducros, Jason D. Marsack, H. Grady Rylander, Sharon L. Thomsen, and Thomas E. Milner
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 18(12) 2945-2956 (2001)

In vivo depth-resolved birefringence measurements of the human retinal nerve fiber layer by polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

Barry Cense, Teresa C. Chen, B. Hyle Park, Mark C. Pierce, and Johannes F. de Boer
Opt. Lett. 27(18) 1610-1612 (2002)