Investigations of the intravascular backscattering distribution of light in optical coherence tomography

The inhomogeneous backscattering distribution of low-coherent light in blood vessels, which appears as waisted double fan-shaped intensity pattern, is investigated in an in vivo mouse model and flow phantom measurements using high resolution spectral domain optical coherence tomography in the 1.3 µm wavelength region. Based on a predicted orientation of the red blood cells towards laminar flow, an angular modulation of the corresponding backscattering crosssection inside the vessels is assumed. In combination with the signal attenuation in depth by absorption and scattering, a simple model of the intravascular intensity modulation is derived. The suitability of the model is demonstrated ...
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