Optical coherence tomography: a review of clinical development from bench to bedside

Abstract

Since its introduction, optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology has advanced from the laboratory bench to the clinic and back again. Arising from the fields of low coherence interferometry and optical time- and frequency-domain reflectometry, OCT was initially demonstrated for retinal imaging and followed a unique path to commercialization for clinical use. Concurrently, significant technological advances were brought about from within the research community, including improved laser sources, beam delivery instruments, and detection schemes. While many of these technologies improved retinal imaging, they also allowed for the application of OCT to many new clinical areas. As a result, OCT has been clinically demonstrated in a diverse set of medical and surgical specialties, including gastroenterology, dermatology, cardiology, and oncology, among others. The lessons learned in the clinic are currently spurring a new set of advances in the laboratory that will again expand the clinical use of OCT by adding molecular sensitivity, improving image quality, and increasing acquisition speeds. This continuous cycle of laboratory development and clinical application has allowed the OCT technology to grow at a rapid rate and represents a unique model for the translation of biomedical optics to the patient bedside. This work presents a brief history of OCT development, reviews current clinical applications, discusses some clinical translation challenges, and reviews laboratory developments poised for future clinical application.

A review of some recent developments in polarization-sensitive optical imaging techniques for the study of articular cartilage

“…OCT is an optical analogue of ultrasound imaging and is widely used to produce depth-resolved images of the retina 20 . Its primary mode of contrast is via refractive index differences between tissue layers.…”

Anterior segment imaging with Spectral OCT system using a high-speed CMOS camera

“…In this technique the structural information is derived from the light backscattered or backreflected at the interfaces between the regions of different optical properties within the object. OCT technique enables two-or three-dimensional (2-D or 3-D) cross-sectional imaging with micrometer resolution [1][2][3][4]. Besides morphology, OCT reveals and visualizes such properties of biological objects as velocity of flow (via Doppler effect), birefringence (via polarization changes) and tissue extinction [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12].…”

Optical coherence tomography for precision brain imaging, neurosurgical guidance and minimally invasive theranostics

“…Therefore, OCT is widely used in intraoperative imaging, pre-operative diagnostic and postoperative evaluation (2,(5)(6)(7)(8)(9), especially, in ophthalmic lesion detection and diagnosis (10)(11)(12). OCT is treated as a minimally invasive, real-time diagnostic approach for minimally invasive integration of diagnostics and therapeutics.…”