Applied Optics Group

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Eye

En Face OCT

Optical Coherence Tomography systems typically generate both cross-sectional and volumetric images. For many applications it is helpful to also have an en-face view, a slice perpendicular to the tissue surface. En-face imaging has been a focus of research in the AOG for many years.

First en face OCT of the retina

Researchers in the Applied Optics Group were the first to demonstrate en-face optical coherence tomography (OCT) images from the retina (now known as C-scans). To mark the event, a special brick was engraved in the Footsteps Project,  a path which runs through the University of Kent campus directly above the line of the former railway tunnel of the historic Crab & Winkle Rail Line.

OCT/SLO

The combined OCT/SLO (optical coherence tomography and scanning laser ophthalmoscope) instrument for imaging the eye was invented at Kent in 1998 by Adrian Podoleanu and David Jackson.

Number of Google hits OCT/SLO

Results ≈ 9,590,000

Master-Slave OCT

Master-Slave optical coherence tomography (MS-OCT) eliminates the use of the Fourier transform in Fourier-domain OCT image reconstruction, avoiding disadvantages such as the need for resampling, linearization, and correction for unbalanced dispersion in the interferometer. MS-OCT obtains depth dependent information by implementing parallel comparison operations using channeled spectra signals (masks). This is particularly important for en-face OCT as it allow en-face slices to be reconstructed independently of the rest of the volume, reducing computation requirements.