Impact of excitation frequency on lesion visualization and viscoelastic characterization in multifrequency reverberant OCE

We introduce multi-frequency reverberant optical coherence elastography (MFR-OCE), a non-invasive imaging technique for mapping local shear wave speed (SWS) using optical coherence tomography under multi-frequency mechanical excitation. Experiments on tissue-mimicking phantoms with stiff lesions, homogeneous phantoms, and ex vivo porcine corneas evaluated the impact of excitation frequency on lesion visualization and viscoelastic characterization. Results demonstrated that higher excitation frequencies improved lesion detectability by reducing shear wavelength and enhancing spatial resolution. Additionally, dispersion analysis yielded coefficients consistent with theoretical viscoelastic models. These findings highlight MFR-OCE’s capacity as a robust quantitative tool for tissue characterization and advanced diagnostic elastographic imaging.