Optical coherence tomography for non-invasive examination and conservation of cultural heritage objects

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has great potential for the examination of oil paintings, particularly for celebrated masterpieces by great artists in history. We developed an OCT system for large field of view (FOV), high definition (HD) imaging of oil paintings. To achieve large FOV, we translated the sample using a pair of high-precision linear motors and performed sequential volumetric imaging on adjacent, non-overlapping regions. Through 3D OCT imaging, the surface terrain and subsurface microarchitecture of the paintings have been characterized and visualized.

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