Research Progress in System Construction and Image Processing Algorithms of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)

Abstract:As a non-invasive, high-resolution tomographic imaging technique based on the principle of low-coherence interferometry, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has established a pivotal position in biomedical clinical diagnosis, industrial non-destructive testing and other fields. The core trajectory of its technological evolution is manifested in the shift from the time domain to the Fourier domain. In particular, Spectral Domain OCT (SD-OCT) and Swept Source OCT (SS-OCT) have achieved an order-of-magnitude improvement in imaging speed and sensitivity by virtue of their parallel detection architecture. The current development of OCT technology has always revolved around two core dimensions: system hardware construction and image processing algorithms. At the hardware level, existing technologies have achieved continuous optimization of resolution and imaging depth, but have been unable to break through the intrinsic constraints of core performance under the classical optical framework; at the algorithm level, the technical system has completed the transformation from model-driven to data-driven, yet still faces the core bottleneck of translating laboratory performance into clinical practical value. This paper systematically reviews the research progress of OCT system construction and image processing algorithms, deeply analyzes the unsolved core bottlenecks in the two dimensions, clarifies the core path of future technological breakthroughs, and provides a reference for the basic research and clinical translation of OCT technology.