Visible light OCT-based quantitative imaging of lipofuscin in the retinal pigment epithelium with standard reference targets.

We developed a technology for quantitative retinal autofluorescence (AF, or FAF for fundus AF) imaging for quantifying lipofuscin in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The technology is based on simultaneous visible light optical coherence tomography (VIS-OCT) and AF imaging of the retina and a pair of reference standard targets at the intermediate retinal imaging plane with known reflectivity for the OCT and fluorescence efficiency for the FAF. The technology is able to eliminate the pre-RPE attenuation in FAF imaging by using the simultaneously acquired VIS-OCT image. With the OCT and fluorescence images of the reference targets, the effects of illumination power and detector sensitivity can be eliminated.