A method to improve the measurement stability of scattering coefficients in lip with optical coherence tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging technique that provides real-time two- and three-dimensional images of scattering tissues with micrometer resolution. Scattering coefficient is estimated based on the slope of OCT dependent of depth. However, stability of the OCT signal slope is dependent on tissue heterogeneity. Our work is to provide a method of combining post-processing Fourier filtration with automatic identification of fitting range to reduce the effect of tissue heterogeneity on scattering coefficient, and used for noninvasive monitoring of glucose concentration in lip. Axial and lateral resolutions of OCT are 20 μm and 15 μm respectively. OCT images were obtained from lip before breakfast and after breakfast respectively. Results demonstrate that the method improve the stability and the precision of measurement of scattering coefficient of lip. There are obviously different in scattering coefficient of tissue between preprandial glucose and 2-hours postprandial glucose. These pilot studies show that OCT scattering coefficient extraction of lip may be considered as a significant diagnostic marker. OCT has potential to monitor glucose-induced changes in lip in vivo.