Sparse frame acquisition toward fast volumetric dynamic optical coherence tomography imaging

In the biological and pharmaceutical research, there is a certain demand for label-free three-dimensional (3D) imaging of tissue function. Dynamic optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been demonstrated to fill this demand, but a very high-speed system is required for a volume acquisition of dynamic OCT. Here we demonstrate two new frame acquisition protocols which potentially enable the volumetric dynamic OCT by standard-speed OCT device with a reasonably short measurement time. One of the protocols takes multiple frames at a single location with a few hundred milliseconds interval. The other sequentially takes four frames at a single location, and then repeats this burst four-frame acquisition eight times with a few hundred milliseconds interval. These protocols were validated with in vitro and ex vivo samples. Both protocols gave reasonable dynamic OCT images.