Analysis of optical coherence tomography systems based on the extended Huygens-Fresnel principle

We have developed a new theoretical description of the optical coherence to mography (OCT) technique for imaging in highly scattering tissue. The descr iption is based on the extended Huygens-Fresnel principle, valid in both th e single- and multiple-scattering regimes. The so-called shower curtain eff ect, which manifests itself in a standard OCT system, is an inherent proper ty of the present theory. We demonstrate that the shower curtain effect lea ds to a strong increase in the heterodyne signal in a standard OCT system. This is in contrast to previous OCT models, where the shower curtain effect was not taken into account. The theoretical analysis is verified by measur ements on samples consisting of aqueous suspensions of microspheres. Finall y, we discuss the use of our new theoretical model for optimization of the OCT system. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America [S0740-3232(00)00503-2].