Three-beam Doppler optical coherence tomography using a facet prism telescope and MEMS mirror for improved transversal resolution

An improved three-beam Doppler optical coherence tomography system was developed. It utilizes a custom-made three-facet prism telescope to improve the transversal resolution at the sample. Furthermore, a two-axis gimbal-less MEMS mirror is used to minimize off-pivot beam movement at the pupil of the eye, enabling circular scanning for in vivo retinal measurements. We demonstrate the system’s abilities for in vitro circular scanning to measure absolute flow and to reconstruct the full velocity vector on a bifurcation flow phantom. Moreover, in vivo retinal measurements using circular scanning around vessel bifurcations of healthy human volunteers were performed. Measurements of the absolute mean flow and its orientation are in good agreement with the expected values for in vitro measurements. For in vivo measurements, the in- and outflow of blood for retinal vessel bifurcations show an excellent agreement, demonstrating the reliability of the technique.