Three-beam spectral-domain optical coherence tomography for retinal imaging

A three-beam spectral domain optical coherence tomography system (OCT) whose center wavelength is 840 nm was developed. The three beams focus on fundus 3.1 mm apart from each other and are detected by a single line sensor. The distance between the beams is fixed and the beams scan a total area of 10×10 mm² while keeping this separation during three-dimensional (3-D) measurement. The line rate of the sensor is 70 kHz, therefore the total speed is equivalent to 210k A-scans per second in this system. A 1000(x)×500(z)×250(y) voxel volumetric 3D OCT data set can be acquired within 2 s. Images of a model eye, a healthy human eye and a diseased eye taken by this system are shown and evaluated. The image quality of one B-Scan is as good as an image from a single-beam OCT. Adjustment among the beams is solved by additional signal processing using a model eye. A multi-beam OCT has the potential not only for high speed imaging but also functional imaging although problems such as compensation among the beams and motion artifacts must be solved.