Variables affecting polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography imaging examined through the modeling of birefringent phantoms.

Characteristics of tissue birefringence provide valuable diagnostic information when optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging is performed. We mathematically model single-detector polarization-sensitive (PS) OCT (PS-OCT) for imaging an alternating layered phantom with birefringence. The theoretical analysis and the simulated data all reveal complexities associated with PS-OCT imaging. Various tissue parameters affect the retrieved PS-OCT signal and hence the image features. A better understanding of the mechanisms that control PS-OCT imaging would be useful for interpretation of tissue images and ultimately useful to provide more diagnostic information.