There are numerous applications for OCT 's ability to provide high-speed, high-resolution microstructural visualization. The research at MIT has primarly focused on biomedical imaging, where OCT has demonstrated dramatic contributions to several areas. We have developed a system that provides "real time" 2-dimensional false-color tomographs. This unit has been used to diagnosis and treat over 2000 patents in an ophthalmic clinic.
Ophthalmology is just the beginning. We expect the technology to evolve into clinical trials in many new areas such as cardiology, endoscopy, and developmental biology.
We are also developing several other application areas including measurements of fiber-optic and electro-optic components, various materials (polymers, composites, etc.), and high density 3-Dimensional optical memory.
Continued growth of this technology will require improvements in optical sources, longitudinal scanning mechanisms, delivery and imaging optics, high speed digital detection and demodulation techniques, and image processing algorithms. As the instrumentation technology develops we will explore new applications and enhance the effectiveness of existing ones.
OCT is one of the few technologies promising micron scale resolution in highly scattering media - comparable to in some cases to microtome sectioning. The future for OCT seems very bright.
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Modified: Jun 25, 1997|
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