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FDML laser for megahertz retinal OCT imaging
Abstract
A novel Fourier-domain mode locked (FDML) laser design is presented, yielding the highest wavelength sweep speed reported so far around 1050nm. This enables retinal imaging over a ~70° ultra-wide field of view.
... Usually FDML lasers are built with SOAs and FFP-TF, but due to their modular architecture, other combinations are possible. FDML lasers have been demonstrated using a polygon filter [82], and a variety of gain media, including Raman gain [47], rare earth doped fiber [83], and tapered optical amplifiers [84]. FDML are all-fiber based lasers, built of standard telecom grade components, which provides long lifetime and high reliability. ...
Imaging speed is one of the most important parameters that define the performance of optical coherence tomography (OCT) systems. During the last two decades, OCT speed has increased by over three orders of magnitude. New developments in wavelength-swept lasers have repeatedly been crucial for this development. In this review, we discuss the historical evolution and current state of the art of high-speed OCT systems, with focus on wavelength swept light sources and swept source OCT systems.
A technique called optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been developed
for noninvasive cross-sectional imaging in biological systems. OCT uses
low-coherence interferometry to produce a two-dimensional image of
optical scattering from internal tissue microstructures in a way that is
analogous to ultrasonic pulse-echo imaging. OCT has longitudinal and
lateral spatial resolutions of a few micrometers and can detect
reflected signals as small as ~10-10 of the incident optical
power. Tomographic imaging is demonstrated in vitro in the peripapillary
area of the retina and in the coronary artery, two clinically relevant
examples that are representative of transparent and turbid media,
respectively.
We demonstrate a new technique for frequency-swept laser operation--Fourier domain mode locking (FDML)--and its application for swept-source optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. FDML is analogous to active laser mode locking for short pulse generation, except that the spectrum rather than the amplitude of the light field is modulated. High-speed, narrowband optical frequency sweeps are generated with a repetition period equal to the fundamental or a harmonic of cavity round-trip time. An FDML laser is constructed using a long fiber ring cavity, a semiconductor optical amplifier, and a tunable fiber Fabry-Perot filter. Effective sweep rates of up to 290 kHz are demonstrated with a 105 nm tuning range at 1300 nm center wavelength. The average output power is 3 mW directly from the laser and 20 mW after post-amplification. Using the FDML laser for swept-source OCT, sensitivities of 108 dB are achieved and dynamic linewidths are narrow enough to enable imaging over a 7 mm depth with only a 7.5 dB decrease in sensitivity. We demonstrate swept-source OCT imaging with acquisition rates of up to 232,000 axial scans per second. This corresponds to 906 frames/second with 256 transverse pixel images, and 3.5 volumes/second with a 256×128×256 voxel element 3-D OCT data set. The FDML laser is ideal for swept-source OCT imaging, thus enabling high imaging speeds and large imaging depths.
To demonstrate ultrahigh-speed optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging of the retina and optic nerve head at 249,000 axial scans per second and a wavelength of 1060 nm. To investigate methods for visualization of the retina, choroid, and optic nerve using high-density sampling enabled by improved imaging speed.
A swept-source OCT retinal imaging system operating at a speed of 249,000 axial scans per second was developed. Imaging of the retina, choroid, and optic nerve were performed. Display methods such as speckle reduction, slicing along arbitrary planes, en face visualization of reflectance from specific retinal layers, and image compounding were investigated.
High-definition and three-dimensional (3D) imaging of the normal retina and optic nerve head were performed. Increased light penetration at 1060 nm enabled improved visualization of the choroid, lamina cribrosa, and sclera. OCT fundus images and 3D visualizations were generated with higher pixel density and less motion artifacts than standard spectral/Fourier domain OCT. En face images enabled visualization of the porous structure of the lamina cribrosa, nerve fiber layer, choroid, photoreceptors, RPE, and capillaries of the inner retina.
Ultrahigh-speed OCT imaging of the retina and optic nerve head at 249,000 axial scans per second is possible. The improvement of approximately 5 to 10x in imaging speed over commercial spectral/Fourier domain OCT technology enables higher density raster scan protocols and improved performance of en face visualization methods. The combination of the longer wavelength and ultrahigh imaging speed enables excellent visualization of the choroid, sclera, and lamina cribrosa.
While swept source optical coherence tomography (OCT) in the 1050 nm range is promising for retinal imaging, there are certain challenges. Conventional semiconductor gain media have limited output power, and the performance of high-speed Fourier domain mode-locked (FDML) lasers suffers from chromatic dispersion in standard optical fiber. We developed a novel light source with a tapered amplifier as gain medium, and investigated the FDML performance comparing two fiber delay lines with different dispersion properties. We introduced an additional gain element into the resonator, and thereby achieved stable FDML operation, exploiting the full bandwidth of the tapered amplifier despite high dispersion. The light source operates at a repetition rate of 116 kHz with an effective average output power in excess of 30 mW. With a total sweep range of 70 nm, we achieved an axial resolution of 15 µm in air (~11 µm in tissue) in OCT measurements. As our work shows, tapered amplifiers are suitable gain media for swept sources at 1050 nm with increased output power, while high gain counteracts dispersion effects in an FDML laser.
We present ultra high speed optical coherence tomography (OCT) with multi-megahertz line rates and investigate the achievable image quality. The presented system is a swept source OCT setup using a Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) laser. Three different FDML-based swept laser sources with sweep rates of 1, 2.6 and 5.2MHz are compared. Imaging with 4 spots in parallel quadruples the effective speed, enabling depth scan rates as high as 20.8 million lines per second. Each setup provides at least 98dB sensitivity and ~10µm resolution in tissue. High quality 2D and 3D imaging of biological samples is demonstrated at full scan speed. A discussion about how to best specify OCT imaging speed is included. The connection between voxel rate, line rate, frame rate and hardware performance of the OCT setup such as sample rate, analog bandwidth, coherence length, acquisition dead-time and scanner duty cycle is provided. Finally, suitable averaging protocols to further increase image quality are discussed.
For the first time in vivo retinal imaging has been performed with a new compact, low noise Yb-based ASE source operating in the 1 µm range (NP Photonics, λc=1040 nm, Δλ=50 nm, Pout=30 mW) at the dispersion minimum of water with ~7 µm axial resolution. OCT tomograms acquired at 800 nm are compared to those achieved at 1040 nm showing about 200 µm deeper penetration into the choroid below the retinal pigment epithelium. Retinal OCT at longer wavelengths significantly improves the visualization of the retinal pigment epithelium/choriocapillaris/choroid interface and superficial choroidal layers as well as reduces the scattering through turbid media and therefore might provide a better diagnosis tool for early stages of retinal pathologies such as age related macular degeneration which is accompanied by choroidal neovascularization, i.e. extensive growth of new blood vessels in the choroid and retina.
A signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) analysis is presented for optical coherence tomography (OCT) signals in which time-domain performance is compared with that of the spectral domain. A significant SNR gain of several hundredfold is found for acquisition in the spectral domain. The SNR benefit is demonstrated experimentally in a hybrid time-domain–spectral-domain OCT system.
We describe buffered Fourier domain mode locking (FDML), a technique for tailoring the output and multiplying the sweep rate of FDML lasers. Buffered FDML can be used to create unidirectional wavelength sweeps from the normal bidirectional sweeps in an FDML laser without sacrificing sweep rate. We also investigate the role of the laser source in dynamic range versus sensitivity performance in optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. Unidirectional sweep rates of 370 kHz over a 100 nm range at a center wavelength of 1300 nm are achieved. High-speed, swept-source OCT is demonstrated at record speeds of up to 370,000 axial scans per second.
A Fourier domain mode-locked (FDML) laser at 1050 nm for ultra-high-speed optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging of the human retina is demonstrated. Achievable performance, physical limitations, design rules, and scaling principles for FDML operation and component choice in this wavelength range are discussed. The fiber-based FDML laser operates at a sweep rate of 236 kHz over a 63 nm tuning range, with 7 mW average output power. Ultra-high-speed retinal imaging is demonstrated at 236,000 axial scans per second. This represents a speed improvement of ∼ 10 × over typical high-speed OCT systems, paving the way for densely sampled volumetric data sets and new imaging protocols.