Open AccessReal-time speckle reduction in optical coherence tomography using the dual window method
Author(s) -
Yang Zhao,
Kengyeh K. Chu,
Will J. Eldridge,
Evan T. Jelly,
Michael Crose,
Adam Wax
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
biomedical optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.362
H-Index - 86
ISSN - 2156-7085
DOI - 10.1364/boe.9.000616
Subject(s) - speckle pattern , speckle noise , optical coherence tomography , optics , speckle imaging , image quality , noise reduction , computer science , contrast to noise ratio , coherence (philosophical gambling strategy) , reduction (mathematics) , noise (video) , computer vision , artificial intelligence , physics , mathematics , image (mathematics) , geometry , quantum mechanics
Speckle is an intrinsic noise of interferometric signals which reduces contrast and degrades the quality of optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. Here, we present a frequency compounding speckle reduction technique using the dual window (DW) method. Using the DW method, speckle noise is reduced without the need to acquire multiple frames. A ~25% improvement in the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) was achieved using the DW speckle reduction method with only minimal loss (~17%) in axial resolution. We also demonstrate that real-time speckle reduction can be achieved at a B-scan rate of ~21 frames per second using a graphic processing unit (GPU). The DW speckle reduction technique can work on any existing OCT instrument without further system modification or extra components. This makes it applicable both in real-time imaging systems and during post-processing.