Imaging of the parafoveal capillary network and its integrity analysis using fractal dimension

Using a spectral domain OCT system, equipped with a broadband Ti: sapphire laser, we imaged the human retina with 5 mu m x 1.3 mu m transverse and axial resolution at acquisition rate of 100 kHz. Such imaging speed significantly reduces motion artifacts. Combined with the ultra-high resolution, this allows observing microscopic retinal details with high axial definition without the help of adaptive optics. In this work we apply our system to image the parafoveal capillary network. We demonstrate how already on the intensity level the parafoveal capillaries can be segmented by a simple structural high pass filtering algorithm. This data is then used to quantitatively characterize the capillary network of healthy and diseased eyes. We propose to use the fractal dimension as index for capillary integrity of pathologic disorders. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America