Ultrahigh resolution retinal imaging with optical coherence tomography

Summary form only given. Current clinical practice calls for the development of techniques to diagnose retinal disease in its early stages, when treatment is most effective and significant irreversible damage can either be prevented or delayed. At 10-/spl mu/m axial resolution, optical coherence tomography (OCT) already provides more detailed structural information than any other conventional imaging technique. However the detection of many of the early changes associated with diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy, can require more accurate quantitation of retinal structure than is possible with standard resolution OCT. The axial resolution of OCT in clinical ophthalmic systems is limited to 10-15 /spl mu/m by the bandwidth of superluminescent diodes light sources used for imaging. The paper presents the development and application of a third-generation ophthalmic OCT system, with 3-/spl mu/m axial resolution, for in vivo quantitative structural and functional imaging of the retina.