Quantitative multi-contrast in vivo rodent imaging with optical coherence tomography and angiography (Conference Presentation)

Contrast for imaging the retinal microvasculature and the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is essential for pre-clinical studies of vision-robbing diseases. By integrating polarization diversity detection (PDD) with OCT angiography (OCTA), we have developed a novel quantitative multi-contrast OCT for imaging pigment in the RPE as well as flow in the retinal capillaries. An adaptive filter was developed for degree of polarization uniformity (DOPU) processing to provide improved measurements of melanin region thickness in tilted retina. The retinas of three mouse strains were imaged in vivo, with results demonstrating potential for simultaneous mapping of vasculature and melanin distribution in the RPE.