Open AccessRetinal pigment epithelium segmentation by polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography
Author(s) -
Erich Götzinger,
Michael Pircher,
W. Geitzenauer,
C. Ahlers,
Bernhard Baumann,
Stephan Michels,
Ursula SchmidtErfurth,
Christoph K. Hitzenberger
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.16.016410
Subject(s) - optical coherence tomography , optics , retinal pigment epithelium , stokes parameters , retina , retinal , polarization (electrochemistry) , segmentation , physics , tomography , computer science , artificial intelligence , chemistry , ophthalmology , medicine , scattering
We present a new method for identifying and segmenting the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) images of the human retina. Contrary to previous, intensity based segmentation algorithms, our method uses an intrinsic tissue property of the RPE: its depolarizing, or polarization scrambling effect on backscattered light. Two different segmentation algorithms are presented and discussed: a simpler algorithm based on retardation data, and a more sophisticated algorithm based on local variations of the polarization state calculated from averaged Stokes vector elements. By using a state of the art spectral domain PS-OCT instrument, we demonstrate the method in healthy and diseased eyes.