Early development of optical low-coherence reflectometry and some recent biomedical applications.

This paper explains the term low-coherence interferometry, reviews the early development of optical low-coherence reflectometry, and shows some of the paths that led to the field of biomedical optics. This paper demonstrates that early technical developments in the telecommunications industry resulted in a myriad of technical implementations and applications in biology, medicine, and the explosion of the field in noninvasive biomedical optical techniques. Recent examples of innovative applications of this proliferating technology into the fields of ophthalmology, developmental biology, and endoscopy are described. © 1999 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

[1]  B E Bouma,et al.  Optical biopsy in human gastrointestinal tissue using optical coherence tomography. , 1997, The American journal of gastroenterology.

[2]  Adolf Friedrich Fercher,et al.  Measurement of Intraocular Optical Distances Using Partially Coherent Laser Light , 1991 .

[3]  Stephen A. Boppart,et al.  Imaging developing neural morphology using optical coherence tomography , 1996, Journal of Neuroscience Methods.

[4]  J. Fujimoto,et al.  Investigation of developing embryonic morphology using optical coherence tomography. , 1996, Developmental biology.

[5]  R. Salathé,et al.  Rapid and precise in vivo measurement of human corneal thickness with optical low-coherence reflectometry in normal human eyes. , 1998, Journal of biomedical optics.

[6]  D. Davies,et al.  Optical coherence-domain reflectometry: a new optical evaluation technique. , 1987, Optics letters.

[7]  G. Hernandez,et al.  Fabry-Perot Interferometers , 1986 .

[8]  A. Fercher,et al.  Measurement of corneal thickness by laser Doppler interferometry. , 1992, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[9]  J. Fujimoto,et al.  Noninvasive assessment of the developing Xenopus cardiovascular system using optical coherence tomography. , 1997, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[10]  C K Hitzenberger,et al.  Dual beam optical coherence tomography: signal identification for ophthalmologic diagnosis. , 1998, Journal of biomedical optics.

[11]  D. F. Gray,et al.  Simultaneous thickness and group index measurement using optical low-coherence reflectometry , 1992, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[12]  K. Yukimatsu,et al.  Rayleigh backscattering measurement of single‐mode fibers by low coherence optical time‐domain reflectometer with 14 μm spatial resolution , 1991 .

[13]  J. Schmitt,et al.  Measurement of optical properties of biological tissues by low-coherence reflectometry. , 1993, Applied optics.

[14]  G. Ha Usler,et al.  "Coherence radar" and "spectral radar"-new tools for dermatological diagnosis. , 1998, Journal of biomedical optics.

[15]  B E Bouma,et al.  Imaging of coronary artery microstructure (in vitro) with optical coherence tomography. , 1996, The American journal of cardiology.

[16]  James G. Fujimoto,et al.  Optical Coherence Tomography of Ocular Diseases , 1995 .

[17]  J. Izatt,et al.  In vivo bidirectional color Doppler flow imaging of picoliter blood volumes using optical coherence tomography. , 1997, Optics letters.

[18]  A. Fercher,et al.  Eye-length measurement by interferometry with partially coherent light. , 1988, Optics letters.

[19]  Adolf Friedrich Fercher,et al.  Ophthalmic Laser Interferometry , 1986, Other Conferences.

[20]  G. Ripandelli,et al.  Optical coherence tomography. , 1998, Seminars in ophthalmology.

[21]  J. Fujimoto,et al.  High-speed phase- and group-delay scanning with a grating-based phase control delay line. , 1997, Optics letters.

[22]  K. Takada,et al.  New measurement system for fault location in optical waveguide devices based on an interferometric technique. , 1987, Applied optics.

[23]  B R Masters,et al.  Multiphoton Excitation Microscopy of In Vivo Human Skin: Functional and Morphological Optical Biopsy Based on Three‐Dimensional Imaging, Lifetime Measurements and Fluorescence Spectroscopy a , 1998, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[24]  C K Hitzenberger,et al.  Dispersion effects in partial coherence interferometry: implications for intraocular ranging. , 1999, Journal of biomedical optics.

[25]  M. Nara,et al.  Interferometer for measuring displacement and distance. , 1987, Optics letters.

[26]  Wolfgang Drexler,et al.  Ocular partial-coherence interferometry , 1996, Other Conferences.

[27]  B R Masters,et al.  Multiphoton excitation fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy of in vivo human skin. , 1997, Biophysical journal.

[28]  H. Taylor,et al.  Optical fiber component characterization by high-intensity and high-spatial-resolution interferometric optical-time-domain reflectometer , 1991, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[29]  B R Masters,et al.  Three‐dimensional microscopic biopsy of in vivo human skin: a new technique based on a flexible confocal microscope , 1997, Journal of microscopy.

[30]  C K Hitzenberger,et al.  Signal and resolution enhancements in dual beam optical coherence tomography of the human eye. , 1998, Journal of biomedical optics.

[31]  M. V. van Gemert,et al.  Noninvasive imaging of in vivo blood flow velocity using optical Doppler tomography. , 1997, Optics letters.

[32]  J. Fujimoto,et al.  In vivo endoscopic optical biopsy with optical coherence tomography. , 1997, Science.

[33]  R. Salathé,et al.  Rapid and scalable scans at 21 m/s in optical low-coherence reflectometry. , 1997, Optics letters.

[34]  David J. Webb,et al.  Transversal and longitudinal images from the retina of the living eye using low coherence reflectometry. , 1998, Journal of biomedical optics.

[35]  Andreas Quirrenbach,et al.  Optical Interferometry , 2001 .

[36]  R Birngruber,et al.  Low-coherence optical tomography in turbid tissue: theoretical analysis. , 1995, Applied optics.

[37]  Wolfgang Drexler,et al.  Biometric investigation of changes in the anterior eye segment during accommodation , 1997, Vision Research.

[38]  R. P. Novak,et al.  Submillimeter optical reflectometry , 1989 .

[39]  D L Farkas,et al.  Noninvasive imaging of living human skin with dual-wavelength optical coherence tomography in two and three dimensions. , 1998, Journal of biomedical optics.

[40]  Heinz P. Weber,et al.  Optical reflectometry with micrometer resolution for the investigation of integrated optical devices , 1989 .

[41]  Valery V. Tuchin,et al.  Selected papers on tissue optics : applications in medical diagnostics and therapy , 1994 .

[42]  Michael Richard Hee,et al.  Optical coherence tomography of the eye , 1997 .

[43]  V V Tuchin,et al.  Coherent optical techniques for the analysis of tissue structure and dynamics. , 1999, Journal of biomedical optics.

[44]  R. P. Novak,et al.  High-resolution reflectometry in biological tissues. , 1992, Optics letters.

[45]  L. Mandel,et al.  Optical Coherence and Quantum Optics , 1995 .

[46]  Harald Sattmann,et al.  Measurement of the thickness of fundus layers by partial coherence tomography , 1995 .

[47]  B E Bouma,et al.  Rapid acquisition of in vivo biological images by use of optical coherence tomography. , 1996, Optics letters.

[48]  K. Yukimatsu,et al.  Phase-noise and shot-noise limited operations of low coherence optical time domain reflectometry , 1991 .

[49]  B L Danielson,et al.  Absolute optical ranging using low coherence interferometry. , 1991, Applied optics.

[50]  Xavier Clivaz,et al.  1.5-μm resolution optical low-coherence reflectometry in biological tissues , 1994, Other Conferences.

[51]  C K Hitzenberger,et al.  Optical measurement of the axial eye length by laser Doppler interferometry. , 1991, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[52]  M. Barnoski,et al.  Fiber waveguides: a novel technique for investigating attenuation characteristics. , 1976, Applied optics.

[53]  G. Müller,et al.  Medical Optical Tomography: Functional Imaging and Monitoring , 1993 .

[54]  William K. Burns,et al.  High‐power low‐divergence superradiance diode , 1982 .

[55]  X. Clivaz,et al.  Optical Low Coherence Reflectometry with 1.9 Mu-M Spatial-Resolution , 1992 .

[56]  Michael Richard Hee.  Biological imaging with low coherence optical interferometry , 1992 .

[57]  C K Hitzenberger,et al.  Submicrometer precision biometry of the anterior segment of the human eye. , 1997, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[58]  J. Fujimoto,et al.  Femtosecond optical ranging in biological systems. , 1986, Optics letters.

[59]  C K Hitzenberger,et al.  Investigation of dispersion effects in ocular media by multiple wavelength partial coherence interferometry. , 1998, Experimental eye research.

[60]  Jürgen Beuthan,et al.  Selected papers on optical tomography : fundamentals and applications in medicine , 1998 .

[61]  J. Fujimoto,et al.  Polarization-sensitive low-coherence reflectometer for birefringence characterization and ranging , 1992 .

[62]  Barry R. Masters,et al.  Noninvasive Diagnostic Techniques in Ophthalmology , 1990, Springer New York.

[63]  Joseph M. Schmitt,et al.  MODEL OF OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY OF HETEROGENEOUS TISSUE , 1997 .

[64]  M. Horiguchi,et al.  High-sensitivity low coherence reflectometer using erbium-doped superfluorescent fibre source and erbium-doped power amplifier , 1993 .

[65]  J G Fujimoto,et al.  Femtosecond optical ranging of corneal incision depth. , 1989, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[66]  Xavier Clivaz,et al.  Tissue investigation with optical coherence domain reflectometry , 1992, Photonics West - Lasers and Applications in Science and Engineering.

[67]  B E Bouma,et al.  Scanning single-mode fiber optic catheter-endoscope for optical coherence tomography: erratum. , 1996, Optics letters.

[68]  B. Golubovic,et al.  Single mode fiber-optic catheter/endoscope for optical coherence tomography , 1996, Summaries of papers presented at the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics.

[69]  Walter Hodel,et al.  Comparison between OTDR and OLCR with micrometer spatial resolution. New improved OLCR detection scheme and latest measurement results on IOC , 2001 .

[70]  J. Izatt,et al.  Optical Coherence Tomography and Microscopy in Gastrointestinal Tissues , 1996, Advances in Optical Imaging and Photon Migration.

[71]  Wolfgang Drexler,et al.  Ocular partial-coherence tomography , 1996, Other Conferences.

[72]  B L Danielson,et al.  Guided-wave reflectometry with micrometer resolution. , 1987, Applied optics.

[73]  A. Fercher,et al.  Eye elongation during accommodation in humans: differences between emmetropes and myopes. , 1998, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[74]  J P Heritage,et al.  400-Hz mechanical scanning optical delay line. , 1993, Optics letters.

[75]  B E Bouma,et al.  Optical Coherence Tomographic Imaging of Human Tissue at 1.55 μm and 1.81 μm Using Er- and Tm-Doped Fiber Sources. , 1998, Journal of biomedical optics.

[76]  Harald Sattmann,et al.  In vivo optical coherence tomography and topography of the fundus of the human eye , 1995, Other Conferences.

[77]  B. Colston,et al.  Dental OCT. , 1998, Optics express.

[78]  J M Schmitt,et al.  Subsurface imaging of living skin with optical coherence microscopy. , 1995, Dermatology.

[79]  E A Swanson,et al.  Optical biopsy with optical coherence tomography: feasibility for surgical diagnostics. , 1997, The Journal of surgical research.

[80]  Juichi Noda,et al.  Polarization-independent interferometric optical-time-domain reflectometer , 1991 .

[81]  J. Fujimoto,et al.  Optical coherence tomography for optical biopsy. Properties and demonstration of vascular pathology. , 1996, Circulation.

[82]  Jennifer K. Barton,et al.  OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY FOR BIODIAGNOSTICS , 1997 .

[83]  J. Fujimoto,et al.  Optical Coherence Tomography , 1991, LEOS '92 Conference Proceedings.

[84]  G. Gelikonov,et al.  In vivo OCT imaging of hard and soft tissue of the oral cavity. , 1998, Optics express.

[85]  A Rollins,et al.  In vivo video rate optical coherence tomography. , 1998, Optics express.

[86]  B R Masters,et al.  Precision and Reproducibility of Measurements of Human Corneal Thickness with Rapid Optical Low-Coherence Reflectometry (OLCR). , 1999, Journal of biomedical optics.

[87]  G. Gelikonov,et al.  In vivo endoscopic OCT imaging of precancer and cancer states of human mucosa. , 1997, Optics express.

[88]  T. Okoshi,et al.  Optical frequency-domain reflectometery , 1986 .