Ultra-high resolution polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography for imaging of the retinal nerve fiber layer

A spectrometer design with a multiple line line-scan camera and beam displacer is presented for ultra-high resolution optical coherence tomography measurements of the human retina at 840 nm. The beam displacer offsets the two orthogonal polarization states on the same line-scan camera, which reduces k-space mapping complexity, as data in both polarization channels can be mapped with the same procedure. Its coherence length is 2.8 mu m in tissue (n = 1.38). Birefringence values of 1 degrees/mu m and higher were found in a circle with a radius of 2.5 degrees eccentricity centered on the fovea, and in the raphe, pointing at a higher packing density of microtubules and a lower concentration of glia. Birefringence measurements may be more helpful in the modeling of individual structure-function maps than thickness measurements, as they are not affected by glial content.