Implementation of Cost-effective Common Path Spectral Domain Free-hand Scanning OCT System

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is being developed to guide various ophthalmic surgical pro-cedures. However, the high cost of the intraoperative OCT system limits its availability mostly to the largest hospitals and healthcare systems. In this paper, we present a design and evaluation of a low-cost intraoperative common-path free-hand scanning OCT system. The lensed fiber imaging probe is designed and fabricated for intraocular use and the free-hand scanning algorithm that could operate at a low scanning speed was developed. Since the system operates at low frequencies, the cost of the overall system is significantly lower than other commercial intraoperative OCT systems. The assembled system is characterized and shows that it meets the design specifications. The handheld OCT imaging probe is tested on multilayer tape phantom and ex-vivo porcine eyes. The results show that the system could be used as an intraoperative intraocular OCT imaging device.