Visualization of 3-D high speed ultrahigh resolution optical coherence tomographic data identifies structures visible in 2D frames

Opt Express. 2009 Mar 2;17(5):4208-20. doi: 10.1364/oe.17.004208.

Abstract

Optical coherence tomography has allowed unprecedented visualization of ocular structures, but the identity of some visible objects within slices remains unknown. This study reconstructs a number of those objects in 3D space, allowing their identification by observation of their 3D morphology. In the case mottling deep within image slices through the optic disc, C-mode imaging provided visualization of the appearance and distribution of laminar pores. In the case of white spots and streaks sometimes observed in image slices through the cornea, C-mode imaging contoured to the path of those white spots allowed their visual identification as nerves extending radially into the cornea from the limbus. White spots observed in ultra-high resolution retinal image slices were identified as blood within retinal capillaries. C-mode contour-corrected imaging of three dimensional structures provided the identification of previously unidentified structures visible in cross-sectional image slices.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cornea / anatomy & histology
  • Databases, Factual
  • Eye / anatomy & histology*
  • Fluorescein Angiography
  • Humans
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional
  • Macula Lutea / anatomy & histology
  • Optic Disk / anatomy & histology
  • Optic Nerve / anatomy & histology
  • Retina / anatomy & histology
  • Retinal Vessels / anatomy & histology
  • Tomography, Optical Coherence / methods*
  • Tomography, Optical Coherence / statistics & numerical data