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We demonstrate a handheld swept-source optical coherence tomography (OCT) system with a 400 kHz vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) light source, a non-contact approach, and an unprecedented single shot 105° field of view (FOV). We also implemented a spiral scanning pattern allowing real-time visualization with improved scanning efficiency. To the best of our knowledge, this is the widest FOV achieved in a portable non-contact OCT retinal imaging system to date. Improvements to the FOV may aid the evaluation of retinal diseases such as retinopathy of prematurity, where important vitreoretinal changes often occur in the peripheral retina.

Sensorless adaptive optics optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT) is a technology to image retinal tissue with high resolution by compensating ocular aberrations without wavefront sensors. In this Letter, a fast and robust hill-climbing algorithm is developed to optimize five Zernike modes in AO-OCT with a numerical aperture between that of conventional AO and commercial OCT systems. The merit function is generated in real time using graphics processing unit while axially tracking the retinal layer of interest. A new method is proposed to estimate the largest achievable field of view for which aberrations are corrected uniformly in sensorless AO-OCT.

Phase-based optical coherence tomography (OCT), such as OCT angiography (OCTA) and Doppler OCT, is sensitive to the confounding phase shift introduced by subject bulk motion. Traditional bulk motion compensation methods are limited by their accuracy and computing cost-effectiveness. In this Letter, to the best of our knowledge, we present a novel bulk motion compensation method for phase-based functional OCT. Bulk motion associated phase shift can be directly derived by solving its equation using a standard deviation of phase-based OCTA and Doppler OCT flow signals. This method was evaluated on rodent retinal images acquired by a prototype visible light OCT and human retinal images acquired by a commercial system. The image quality and computational speed were significantly improved, compared to two conventional phase compensation methods.

We describe a high-speed optical coherence domain reflectometer. Scan speeds of 40 mm/s are achieved with a dynamic range of >90 dB and a spatial resolution of 17 μm. Two applications are presented: the noninvasive measurement of anterior eye structure in a rabbit inυiυo and the characterization of reflections and interelement spacing in a multielement lens.

Single-beam laser Doppler measurements of flow velocity are only sensitive to the velocity component parallel to the optical axis. We describe a simple modification to a standard Doppler optical coherence tomography (OCT) system using a single sample beam that provides velocity information from multiple angles within the beam. By introducing a glass plate midway into the OCT beam path, the sample beam is divided into several components, each with a different group delay and each providing a separate interferogram with its own effective Doppler angle. By combining the Doppler shift measured in each of these component interferograms, the flow velocity vector is fully determined.

The group index of the cornea, rather than the phase refractive index, is required for thickness calculations with optical coherence tomography. Recent advances with high-speed optical coherence tomography at 1.3 microm make index measurement at this wavelength of great interest. Group indices of three human corneas from an eye bank were measured in vitro with optical coherence domain reflectometry. Measurements were made in a calibrated cuvette filled with a preservation medium to maintain proper corneal hydration. Group indices were calculated from the optical path lengths measured. The corneal group index was 1.389 +/- 0.004 (average +/- standard deviation). The average group index of a balanced salt solution, an approximation to aqueous humor, was 1.343 +/- 0.001.

Despite the challenges in achieving high phase stability, Doppler swept-source/Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) has advantages of less fringe washout and faster imaging speeds compared to spectral/Fourier-domain detection. This Letter demonstrates swept-source OCT with a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser light source at 400 kHz sweep rate for phase-sensitive Doppler imaging, measuring pulsatile total retinal blood flow with high sensitivity and phase stability. A robust, simple, and computationally efficient phase stabilization approach for phase-sensitive swept-source imaging is also presented.

We describe what are to our knowledge the first in vivo measurements of human retinal structure with optical coherence tomography. These images represent the highest depth resolution in vivo retinal images to date. The tomographic system, image-processing techniques, and examples of high-resolution tomographs and their clinical relevance are discussed.

Self-focusing has recently been used for fast saturable absorber mode locking and femtosecond pulse generation in Ti:Al(2)O(3) lasers. We describe the operation, design, and optimization of self-focusing loss modulators for mode locking. A new formalism is developed that simplifies the treatment of self-focusing in thick nonlinear media by using a simple transform of the complex Gaussian beam parameter. Theoretical predictions are confirmed by experimental measurements.

A new nonlinear intracavity device called a microdot mirror mode locker is demonstrated for ultrashort-pulse generation in solid-state lasers. The microdot mirror produces fast saturable absorber action by using self-focusing. Pulse durations of 190 fs are achieved in a Ti:A1(2)O(3) laser. The microdot mirror mode locker is modular, preserves wavelength tunability, and can be extended to a wide range of solid-state lasers.