Optical Coherence Tomography as a Tool for Ocular Dynamics Estimation

Purpose. The aim of the study is to demonstrate that the ocular dynamics of the anterior chamber of the eye can be estimated quantitatively by means of optical coherence tomography (OCT). Methods. A commercial high speed, high resolution optical coherence tomographer was used. The sequences of tomographic images of the iridocorneal angle of three subjects were captured and each image from the sequence was processed in MATLAB environment in order to detect and identify the contours of the cornea and iris. The data on pulsatile displacements of the cornea and iris and the changes of the depth of the gap between them were retrieved from the sequences. Finally, the spectral analysis of the changes of these parameters was performed. Results. The results of the temporal and spectral analysis manifest the ocular microfluctuation that might be associated with breathing (manifested by 0.25 Hz peak in the power spectra), heart rate (1–1.5 Hz peak), and ocular hemodynamics (3.75–4.5 Hz peak). Conclusions. This paper shows that the optical coherence tomography can be used as a tool for noninvasive estimation of the ocular dynamics of the anterior segment of the eye, but its usability in diagnostics of the ocular hemodynamics needs further investigations.