Signal-to-noise ratio in an OCT/confocal system and penetration depth in OCT

Adrian Gh. Podoleanu; Radu G. Cucu; David A. Jackson

doi:10.1117/12.427890

23 May 2001 Signal-to-noise ratio in an OCT/confocal system and penetration depth in OCT

Adrian Gh. Podoleanu, Radu G. Cucu, David A. Jackson

Proceedings Volume 4251, Coherence Domain Optical Methods in Biomedical Science and Clinical Applications V; (2001) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.427890
Event: BiOS 2001 The International Symposium on Biomedical Optics, 2001, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

An OCT system is built around a confocal optical receiver by adding a reference beam to the beam returned from the target tissue to the photodetector. The amount of light collected by the OCT receiver (both signal and background signal) depends on the parameters of the confocal receiver. We are interested in a configuration that allows the simultaneous display of the confocal signal and the OCT signal, which requires a separate confocal channel in the system. In this case, the S/N performance is different in the two channels and depends on the optical configuration used. The paper discusses the noise sources in the two channels. S/N ratios are numerically evaluated for cases of experimental interest. As far as the penetration depth in OCT is concerned, a value of 20 optical depths was considered achievable in previous reports if only the shot noise was considered. We correct this value by taking into account the excess photon noise and the limitations imposed by the safety power limits. Multiple scattering determines an increase in noise via the excess photon noise term.

Citation Download Citation

Adrian Gh. Podoleanu, Radu G. Cucu, and David A. Jackson "Signal-to-noise ratio in an OCT/confocal system and penetration depth in OCT", Proc. SPIE 4251, Coherence Domain Optical Methods in Biomedical Science and Clinical Applications V, (23 May 2001); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.427890

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available