Development of High-Speed Parallel OCT Imaging Technology Based on Photonic Integrated Circuits

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive, label-free biomedical imaging modality. Because of its micrometer-scale spatial resolution and millimeter-scale penetration depth, OCT has wide and distinct applications. OCT is advancing toward faster imaging speed, richer functional information, and higher-throughput operation. However, the broad accessibility of OCT is challenging, as conventional systems are often limited by their size, complexity, and scalability. Previous technological developments have overcome similar challenges. Like the transition from early room-sized computers to today’s ubiquitous smartphones, OCT is also moving toward more compact and integrated platforms. This thesis studies the development of high-speed parallel OCT, where photonic integrated circuits have been explored as a pathway toward miniaturization, and GPU-based signal processing has been developed to support high-throughput operation.