Development of Handheld Optical Coherence Tomography Device for Imaging Oral Vasculature in Soft Tissues

Abstract

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique that produces high-resolutionimages at shallow tissue depths of 1-2 mm. Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA), creates 3-D angiograms to distinguish between structural tissue beds and blood flow, making OCT ideal for imaging dental vasculature. The Biophotonics and Imaging Lab (BAIL) developed an OCT probe to image in the gingival region. This allows for the identification of irregular angiogenesis, a key sign of gingivitis development, to understand disease progression. Proper camera alignment and precise scanning pattern from the probe is necessary for strong OCT signal strength, to achieve clear, higher-resolution images for vascular analysis. A sequence control protocol ensures the camera is aligned orthogonally to produce a high alignment percentage. Lissajous pattern modeling to determine scan pattern alignment to tissue volume without requiring prior image processing or optics knowledge, allowing for more user-friendly high-resolution imaging.