Histogram-based filtering for quantitative 3D retinal angiography

Doppler Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (D-FDOCIF) can be used to visualise and measure ocular blood flow in the retina of the human eye. This has the potential to diagnose illnesses such as macula degeneration or diabetic retinopathy early on because these medical conditions cause a pathological change in the retinal vasculature and perfusion. Here we are presenting a method to separate quantitative blood flow information from static tissue. Our approach is demonstrated on retinal D-FDOCT volume scans taken at the optic nerve head (see figure) and near the fovea with a high speed CMOS-based FDOCT system. The advantage of this method is the small post-processing effort together with the immediate availability of segmented quantitative Doppler flow maps. The performance of the filtering technique is also compared to spatial frequency filtering methods. [GRAPHICS] Overlay of intensity (greyscale) and blood flow velocity (color-coded) data of a FDOCT volume scan around the optic nerve head. (C) 2009 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. Weinheim