No abstract

Optical coherence tomography (OCT), a low coherence interferometric imaging technique, is a potentially useful tool for disease diagnosis and biological process monitoring. Spectral analysis of the OCT signals can yield additional information on the properties of scatterers in the sample, allowing tissue analysis and functional imaging to be performed. The objective of this work is to investigate the use of the spectroscopic OCT (SOCT) technique for biomedical applications. A systematic study was first carried out to determine an optimal metric for quantifying scatterer sizes using an improved SOCT analysis method.

Life is a sojourn where the journey is the destination. Likewise in this master of engineering project, the journey itself has been exhilarating, with many pitfalls and rewards, an experience ultimately making me a better person. Someone once said: "When there is no hope, there can be no endeavour". Indeed, sustaining the hope throughout the project is not an easy thing, as I only managed to obtain positive results in the remaining 6 months of my 2 year course. I overheard in the canteen one day an exchange from a lecturer to his student; about how postgraduate students successfully complete their courses. The lecturer said: "Those who successfully complete their postgraduate studies are able to overcome their fear of not being able to find anything of significance. Every research student will encounter a period where they find that they are stuck and going nowhere. Those who marshal their hopes and forge on will find that the light at the end of the tunnel is revealed." I want to thank my supervisor, Dr Tjin Swee Chuan (Director of Photonics Research Center), for his advice and encouragement throughout the course of my project. His flexibility has enabled me to conduct research in interesting ways; I came up with ideas at strange times in a day. I am also thankful to him for finding time to discuss various issues with me despite his busy schedule. To my co-supervisor, Dr Rahardjo Harianto (Vice Dean of Research in School of Civil and Environmental Engineering), I wish to extend my heartfelt gratitude. The numerous discussions we had in his office about research or otherwise, have given me an insight into how proper research should be conducted. His encouragements and patience has always renewed my hope during periods of uncertainty.