Optical Coherence Elastography Techniques for Carotid Arterial Wall Imaging

In this thesis, elastography is evaluated in combination with optical coherence tomography (OCT). Two approaches to OCT based elastography, Digital image correlation (DIC) and Doppler optical coherence elastography (DOCE), are evaluated for an intravascular setup using in vivo images from a porcine carotid model. DIC tracks the displacement of speckle patterns in consecutive frames, allowing the calculation of axial and lateral strain. Rapid speckle decorrelation was observed in preprocessed structural images, affecting the tracking and limiting the feasibility of this algorithm. DOCE measures axial strain based on relative tissue velocities. Rotational movement of the imaging optical fibre was the biggest source of artefacts in this imaging mode, but could be removed with a newly developed algorithm, based on the phase change induced in a surrounding catheter. The standard deviation of phase after artefact removal, measured in a stationary phantom experiment, was ~0.2 rad, corresponding to a minimum detectable velocity of 792 μm/s at a Doppler angle of 20°. The sensitivity allowed the detection of arterial blood flow velocity and pattern and the detection of adjacent veins, but did not allow direct elastography.