Wavelength dependence of ultrahigh resolution optical coherence tomography using supercontinuum

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive cross-sectional imaging technique with micrometer resolution. OCT is useful, non-invasive imaging technique of the internal structure, and it has been applied in many fields, especially medicine and industry. The theoretical axial resolution is determined by the center wavelength and bandwidth of the light source, and the wider the bandwidth is, the higher the axial resolution is. Supercontinuum is the high-power, ultrawideband light source. We have been investigating ultrahigh-resolution (UHR)-OCT using supercontinuum. The characteristics of OCT imaging depend on the optical wavelength used. In this talk, we report our recent work of the wavelength dependence of UHR-OCT using a supercontinuum for biomedical imaging. In order to investigate the wavelength dependence of UHR-OCT, the wideband, high-power, low-noise supercontinua were generated at wavelengths of 0.8, 1.1, 1.3, and 1.7 um based on ultrashort pulses and nonlinear fibers. The wavelength dependence of OCT imaging was examined quantitatively using biological phantoms. Ultrahigh-resolution imaging of a rat lung was demonstrated with wavelengths of 0.8 – 1.0 um UHR-OCT. The variation of alveolar volume was estimated using 3D image analysis. We also developed UHR-spectral domain-OCT and optical coherence microscopy (OCM) at 1.7 um. The high-resolution and high-penetration imaging of turbid tissue, especially mouse brain, was demonstrated. The wavelength dependence of OCM was also discussed in terms of mouse brain imaging.