In Vivo 3D Meibography of the Human Eyelid Using Real Time Imaging Fourier-Domain OCT

Recently, we reported obtaining tomograms of meibomian glands from healthy volunteers using commercial anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT), which is widely employed in clinics for examination of the anterior segment. However, we could not create 3D images of the meibomian glands, because the commercial OCT does not have a 3D reconstruction function. In this study we report the creation of 3D images of the meibomian glands by reconstructing the tomograms of these glands using high speed Fourier-Domain OCT (FD-OCT) developed in our laboratory. This research was jointly undertaken at the Department of Ophthalmology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital (Seoul, Korea) and the Advanced Photonics Research Institute of Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (Gwangju, Korea) with two healthy volunteers and seven patients with meibomian gland dysfunction. A real time imaging FD-OCT system based on a high-speed wavelength swept laser was developed that had a spectral bandwidth of 100 nm at the 1310 nm center wavelength. The axial resolution was 5 µm and the lateral resolution was 13 µm in air. Using this device, the meibomian glands of nine subjects were examined. A series of tomograms from the upper eyelid measuring 5 mm (from left to right, B-scan) × 2 mm (from upper part to lower part, C-scan) were collected. Three-D images of the meibomian glands were then reconstructed using 3D “data visualization, analysis, and modeling software”. Established infrared meibography was also performed for comparison. The 3D images of healthy subjects clearly showed the meibomian glands, which looked similar to bunches of grapes. These results were consistent with previous infrared meibography results. The meibomian glands were parallel to each other, and the saccular acini were clearly visible. Here we report the successful production of 3D images of human meibomian glands by reconstructing tomograms of these glands with high speed FD-OCT.