Tail Artifact Removal via Transmittance Effect Subtraction in Optical Coherence Tail Artifact Images

Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA) has revolutionized non-invasive, high-resolution imaging of blood vessels. However, the challenge of tail artifacts in OCTA images persists. In response, we present the Tail Artifact Removal via Transmittance Effect Subtraction (TAR-TES) algorithm that effectively mitigates these artifacts. Through a simple physics-based model, the TAR-TES accounts for variations in transmittance within the shallow layers with the vasculature, resulting in the removal of tail artifacts in deeper layers after the vessel. Comparative evaluations with alternative correction methods demonstrate that TAR-TES excels in eliminating these artifacts while preserving the essential integrity of vasculature images. Crucially, the success of the TAR-TES is closely linked to the precise adjustment of a weight constant, underlining the significance of individual dataset parameter optimization. In conclusion, TAR-TES emerges as a powerful tool for enhancing OCTA image quality and reliability in both clinical and research settings, promising to reshape the way we visualize and analyze intricate vascular networks within biological tissues. Further validation across diverse datasets is essential to unlock the full potential of this physics-based solution.

Automated summary

Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA) is a revolutionary non-invasive, high-resolution imaging technique for blood vessels. This study presents the TAR-TES algorithm, which effectively removes tail artifacts in the OCTA images through a physics-based approach. Comparative evaluations show that TAR-TES excels in eliminating these tail artifacts while preserving the integrity of vasculature images. Therefore, TAR-TES emerges as a powerful tool for enhancing OCTA image quality and reliability in both clinical and research settings.