Auto-sensing, instantaneous adaptive ranging OCT

Project Summary Retinal blood vessels are affected by a wide range of relatively common eye diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and retinal vein occlusion. To effectively diagnose and manage these disorders, clinicians rely upon specialized cameras capable of imaging this retinal microvasculature. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is one of the most commonly used angiographic camera technologies in both clinical and research settings. OCTA provides high-resolution, three-dimensional imaging of retinal vessels down to the finest capillaries. However, due to technological limitations that limit OCTA’s imaging depth range, it is challenging to use it to image the clinically significant peripheral retinal microvasculature. In this work, we propose new technology to address this shortcoming. In Aim 1, we will develop high-speed adaptive ranging OCTA instrumentation as a means for expanding by several-fold the OCTA imaging depth range. To achieve this, we will leverage the latest advances in thin-film lithium niobate integrated photonics to create a fast, tunable optical delay line, which is the essential enabling technology of adaptive ranging. In Aim 2, we validate this technology by acquiring retinal angiograms over ultrawide fields in human subjects. Study data will be used to establish the utility and feasibility of adaptive ranging OCTA and to assess the imaging performance of OCTA systems built around the proposed integrated photonic tunable optical delay line. If successful, this work will improve our ability to image the critical microvasculature of the peripheral retina, which may improve the clinical management of multiple vision-threatening diseases.