Hui Wang, Ph.D., has secured another grant from the NIH to advance his research in optical coherence tomography (OCT), a crucial imaging technique utilizing light waves for capturing cross-sectional images of tissues such as the retina. OCT plays a pivotal role in the early diagnosis of various conditions, including macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinopathy, multiple sclerosis, skin cancer, and atherosclerosis.

In the realm of deep tissue cellular imaging, researchers in the biomedical field have introduced adaptive optics OCT (AO-OCT). This innovative process involves reshaping the wavefront of the light source to reach a targeted region with the best resolution. Unfortunately,  AO-OCT is quite complicated, and comes with a hefty price tag for clinics. As a result, this technology is largely inaccessible to the broader populace of patients.

Hui Wang's OCT research aims to pioneer a new generation of AO-OCT based on their pending patent. With a generous grant exceeding half a million dollars from the NIH, Professor Wang's proposal suggests the use of beam-offset OCT (BO-OCT) to reconstruct backscattered photon distribution (BPD) in scattering tissue. Through BPD, Professor Wang and his team plan to monitor global imaging quality and real-time compensate any distortion before imaging.

The anticipated outcome is a groundbreaking AO-OCT that breaks the barrier between laboratory research and clinical applications. In the foreseeable future, physicians will be equipped to capture in vivo images at cellular resolution in outpatient clinics. When combined with artificial intelligence diagnosis, the capabilities of OCT are poised for significant improvement and expansion.  

What is BO-OCT?

In conventional OCT, the illumination and detection beams share the same optical paths. In BO-OCT, the detection beam acquires images at offset positions from the illumination beam. The BPD can then be reconstructed with the offset images.