Optical Coherence Tomography in archaeological and conservation science - a new emerging field

There has been a long tradition of applying biomedical imaging techniques to the examination of historical artefacts, owing to similar demands for non-invasive methods in both fields. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is no exception. We review the achievements on OCT applications to art conservation and archaeology since the publication of the first papers in 2004. Historical artefacts include a much broader range of materials than biological tissues, hence presenting a greater and somewhat different challenge to the field of OCT. New results will be presented to illustrate the various applications of OCT including both qualitative and quantitative analysis.

[1]  Iwona Gorczynska,et al.  Comparison of three-dimensional optical coherence tomography and high resolution photography for art conservation studies. , 2007, Optics express.

[2]  G. G. Stokes.  "J." , 1890, The New Yale Book of Quotations.

[3]  Cheryl Ward,et al.  Ancient Egyptian materials and technology , 2001 .

[4]  P. Kubelka,et al.  New Contributions to the Optics of Intensely Light-Scattering Materials. Part I , 1948 .

[5]  David A. Jackson,et al.  En-face coherence imaging using galvanometer scanner modulation. , 1998, Optics letters.

[6]  P. Targowski,et al.  Optical coherence tomography in art diagnostics and restoration , 2008 .

[7]  Jan Marczak,et al.  Varnish Ablation Control by Optical Coherence Tomography , 2006 .

[8]  Christoph K. Hitzenberger,et al.  Optical Coherence Tomography for Examination of Parchment Degradation , 2006 .

[9]  P. Kubelka,et al.  New contributions to the optics of intensely light-scattering materials. , 1954, Journal of the Optical Society of America.

[10]  A. Podoleanu.  Unbalanced versus balanced operation in an optical coherence tomography system. , 2000, Applied optics.

[11]  Chih-Chung Yang,et al.  The Use of Optical Coherence Tomography for Monitoring the Subsurface Morphologies of Archaic Jades , 2004 .

[12]  Adrian Gh. Podoleanu,et al.  Optical coherence tomography - a tool for high resolution non-invasive 3D-imaging of the subsurface structure of paintings , 2008 .

[13]  David Saunders,et al.  En-face optical coherence tomography - a novel application of non-invasive imaging to art conservation. , 2005, Optics express.

[14]  Costas Fotakis,et al.  Lasers in the Conservation of Artworks , 2005 .

[15]  Adrian Gh. Podoleanu,et al.  Optical coherence tomography for art conservation and archaeology , 2007, SPIE Optical Metrology.

[16]  Bogumiła J. Rouba,et al.  The Application of Optical Coherence Tomography to Non-Destructive Examination of Museum Objects , 2004 .

[17]  Maciej Szkulmowski,et al.  Optical Coherence Tomography for Tracking Canvas Deformation , 2006 .

[18]  David Saunders,et al.  Non-invasive imaging of subsurface paint layers with optical coherence tomography , 2007 .

[19]  M. Materazzi,et al.  Optical coherence tomography for painting diagnostics , 2005, SPIE Optical Metrology.

[20]  Adrian Gh. Podoleanu,et al.  Application of OCT to examination of easel paintings , 2004, European Workshop on Optical Fibre Sensors.

[21]  Maciej Wojtkowski,et al.  Optical Coherence Tomography for Artwork Diagnostics , 2006 .

[22]  Haida Liang,et al.  Pigment identification with optical coherence tomography and multispectral imaging , 2008 .

[23]  Haida Liang,et al.  Optical coherence tomography: a non-invasive technique applied to conservation of paintings , 2005, SPIE Optical Metrology.