Selective OCT Volume Merging for High Frame Rate Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current three-dimensional optical coherence tomography (OCT) systems face limitations in recording and displaying videos at high frame rates with good signal-to-noise ratios, typically requiring reduced resolution or voxel density to maintain recording time, leading to suboptimal image quality and signal clarity.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that selectively combine current OCT volumes with previous volumes only in regions that have not changed, allowing for partial updating of OCT volumes to maintain high signal-to-noise ratios without compromising image sharpness, and using an initial high-resolution OCT volume for registration and data processing to enhance image quality and resolution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the frame rate is increased to more than 10 volumes per second (ideally at least 24 volumes per second) to enable real-time three-dimensional OCT video display, then the recording time available for each OCT volume is reduced, but this leads to low signal-to-noise ratio and reduced resolution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple OCT volumes recorded at high frame rates into a single composite OCT volume by merging data from multiple time points. This allows the system to maintain high frame rates (more than 10 volumes per second, ideally at least 24 volumes per second) while accumulating sufficient signal data to achieve high signal-to-noise ratios and high resolution, effectively resolving the contradiction between productivity and measurement precision.
2Productivity
If the frame rate is increased to more than 10 volumes per second (ideally at least 24 volumes per second) to enable real-time three-dimensional OCT video display, then the recording time available for each OCT volume is reduced, but this leads to reduced resolution of the OCT volume
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges data from multiple OCT volumes recorded at high frame rates into a single composite volume, accumulating sufficient data points to maintain high resolution despite reduced recording time per individual volume. This resolving the contradiction between productivity (frame rate) and manufacturing precision (resolution).
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary registration and alignment of multiple OCT volumes before merging them. This preliminary action ensures that data from different time points can be accurately combined to maintain high resolution while achieving high frame rates, as the registration process prepares the data for effective integration.
3Measurement precision
If averaging is implemented over more than 100 OCT volumes to increase the signal-to-noise ratio, then the clarity of the image is improved, but the volume frame rate is reduced to up to 10 volumes per second, which is too low to provide a smooth OCT video
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial averaging by combining data from multiple OCT volumes recorded at high frame rates, but not averaging over all 100+ volumes. This partial action approach achieves sufficient signal-to-noise ratio improvement while maintaining high frame rates (more than 10 volumes per second, ideally at least 24 volumes per second), resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and productivity.
4Productivity
If the dimensions or resolution of the OCT volume are reduced to remain within the available recording time at high frame rates, then the recording time constraint is satisfied, but this leads to reduction in the resolution of the 4-D OCT
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges data from multiple OCT volumes to achieve high resolution without reducing the dimensions or resolution of individual volumes. By combining data from multiple high-frame-rate volumes, the system maintains both high frame rates and high resolution, resolving the contradiction between productivity and manufacturing precision.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for recording and displaying a three-dimensional OCT video includes an OCT system and a data processing unit configured to combine OCT volumes recorded sequentially in time to form a combined OCT volume, to generate display data which facilitate the display of the combined OCT volume, to register a current OCT volume of the OCT volumes, to combine the registered current OCT volume with the previous combined OCT volume to generate an updated combined OCT volume, to carry out a check for combining the registered current OCT volume with the previous combined OCT volume and in respect of which volume regions of the current OCT volume have changed in comparison with the corresponding volume regions of the previous combined OCT volume, and only to combine those volume regions of the current OCT volume that have not changed with the corresponding volume regions of the previous combined OCT volume.