In the past decades, the performance of swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) has experienced an unprecedented improvement which is mainly driven by the rapidly evolving laser technologies: the state-of-art SS-OCT is now tens of dB more sensitive, six orders of magnitude faster, and seeing ten times deeper than the original version of time domain OCT. Regardless of the abovementioned progress, the phase instability is always considered the biggest weakness of SS-OCT and the mainstream belief often states that the mechanical tuning mechanism of the swept source is to blame. In my study, I first developed a high-speed phase-stable SS-OCT based on a new-generation akinetic laser source, which is electrically tuned in wavelength, in the hope of reducing the phase noise to a shot-noise limited level. The experimental results turned out to be contradicted to the conventional phase noise theory, which inspires my discovery of a completely new interpretation for the phase noise in SS-OCT: I proposed that the timing jitter and scanning variability has to be taken into the consideration in the noise model as multiplicative noises. The theory was later validated by another SS-OCT using a different light source. This study for the first time articulated the phase noise’s origin and composition in the SS-OCT. Although the SS-OCT performs relatively worse in phase stability compared with its spectral-domain counterpart (SD-OCT), it is still valuable since it images at a much faster rate than SD-OCT. Therefore, a better temporal resolution could be achieved, which is particularly attractive in areas such as time lapse imaging. I therefore utilize the system along with other two systems to conduct ex vivo imaging on human tracheobronchial epithelium. It is shown that the SS-OCT system could achieve equally good performance in this task. Moreover, thanks to the higher temporal and temporal frequency resolution, finer structure within the frequency response of the ciliary motion is picked up by our system. During the study of ex vivo ciliary imaging, one of the challenges I was confronted with was the enormous amount of data generated by the SS-OCT, especially when high temporal frequency resolution is required. We thus came up with an idea of applying the compressive sensing (CS) to reduce the data size. Currently, we have demonstrated some preliminary results with using CS on reference k-clock channel compression. In the future, we will apply the same theory to compress the sample channel data, especially or time lapse OCT imaging.

Over the past 25 years of development and innovation, optical coherence tomography (OCT) has successfully fills the gap between the ex vivo high-resolution optical microscopy technologies and in vivo low-resolution medical imaging modalities, including computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound (US). Ultrahigh resolution (UHR) OCT categorizes OCT systems with an axial resolution below 3 µm in tissue. With the improved resolution, UHR OCT may impart the knowledge of detailed structures of the tissues that are almost close to what histology may provide. This is how UHR OCT can act as a bridge between radiology and histology. This thesis will present an ultrahigh-resolution (UHR) spectral domain (SD) OCT system that features both high axial resolution and long imaging range, and will demonstrate its applications in human myocardium and breast tissue imaging. The UHR OCT system accommodates a supercontinuum light source, and a home-built spectrometer designed to achieve optimized imaging performance. Specifically, the spectrometer features a customized focusing lenses that are comprised of off-the-shelf optics and a 2k-pixel camera to minimize the cost of the instrument. The system manifests an axial resolution of 2.72 µm and a lateral resolution of 5.52 µm, with a large imaging range of 1.78 mm. The sensitivity of the system is 93 dB with a 6-dB sensitivity fall-off range of 0.89 mm. For human myocardium, currently there is no high-resolution non-destructive real-time imaging modality available for biopsy guidance. As a real-time and non-destructive imaging tool, UHR OCT offers additional benefits compared with standard OCT, which are illustrated by successful delineation of micro-structures such as thin elastic fibers and Purkinje fibers in the endomyocardial side. These structures are otherwise not visible within standard-resolution OCT images. Moreover, by adding the cross-polarization (CP) functionality to the UHR SD system, different types of myocardial tissue can be better delineated through the CP contrast. The functional information provided by CP-OCT may also facilitate automatic tissue classification by using A-line signals. For breast tissue imaging, we show qualitatively and quantitatively that UHR OCT images may enable better visualization of detailed features in different types of breast tissue, including healthy and cancerous ones. UHR OCT images of new breast cancer types such as phyllodes tumor, necrotic tumor and fibrotic focus carcinoma are provided for future references. Features developed from UHR OCT images enable a better yield from relevance vector machine (RVM) based stochastic classification model, compared with that from standard resolution OCT images. UHR OCT shows a great promise for automated classification of different tissue types in human breast tissue based off on UHR OCT images. Lastly, we present our endeavor to miniaturize the UHR OCT system on chip. We explore a chip-based optical frequency comb source that may enable UHR OCT at longer wavelengths to achieve better signal penetration in the future. We characterize the performance of the novel source, including the axial resolution and noise, and show that it holds the promise to be adopted in UHR OCT imaging. In addition, we also demonstrate an on-chip tunable reference arm that allows high-topology high-resolution OCT imaging. The compactness of the devices pave the way to the ultimate miniaturization of OCT system.

Catheter ablation therapy attempts to restore sinus rhythm in arrhythmia patients by producing site-specific tissue modification along regions which cause abnormal electrical activity. This treatment, though widely used, often requires repeat procedures to observe long-term therapeutic benefits. This limitation is driven in part by challenges faced by conventional schemes in validating lesion adequacy at the time of the procedure. Optical techniques are well-suited for the interrogation and characterization of biological tissues. In particular, optical coherence tomography (OCT) relies on coherence gating of singly-scattered light to enable high-resolution structural imaging for tissue diagnostics and procedural guidance. Alternatively, optical reflectance spectroscopy (ORS) is a point measurement technique which makes use of incoherent, multiply-scattered light to probe tissue volumes and derive important data from its optical signature. ORS relies on the fact that light-tissue interactions are regulated by absorption and scattering, which directly relate to the intrinsic tissue biochemistry and cellular organization. In this thesis, we explore the integration of these modalities into ablation catheters for obtaining procedural metrics which could be utilized to guide catheter ablation therapy. We first present the development of an accelerated computational light transport model and its application for guiding ORS catheter design. A custom ORS-integrated ablation catheter is then implemented and tested within porcine specimens in vitro. A model is proposed for real-time estimation of lesion size based on changes in spectral morphology acquired during ablation. We then fabricated custom integrated OCT M-mode RF catheters and present a model for detecting contact status based on deep convolutional neural networks trained on endomyocardial images. Additionally, we demonstrate for the first time, tracking of RF-induced lesion formation employing OCT Doppler micro-velocimetry; this response is shown to be commensurate with the degree of treatment. We further demonstrate for the first time spectroscopic tracking of kinetics related to the heme oxidation cascade during thermal treatment, which are linked to tissue denaturation. The pairing of these modalities into a single RF catheter was also validated for guiding lesion delivery in vitro and within live pigs. Finally, we conclude with a proof-of-concept demonstration of ORS as a mapping tool to guide epicardial ablation in human donor hearts. These results showcase the vast potential of ORS and OCT empowered RF catheters for aiding intraprocedural guidance of catheter ablation procedures which could be utilized alongside current practices.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been emerging as a promising imaging technique, with a strong capability of non-invasive, in vivo, high resolution, depth-resolved imaging. There is a great potential to use OCT to guide the treatment of arrhythmias, to prevent preterm birth, and to detect breast cancer. To facilitate the clinical applications, this thesis presents three image analytic tools to characterize biological tissue: 1) automated fiber direction analysis; 2) automated volumetric stitching; 3) automated tissue classification. The fiber direction analysis consists of a particle-filter-based 3D tractography scheme and a pixel-wise fiber analysis scheme. The stitching algorithm enlarges the field of view of current OCT system from millimeter to centimeter level by volumetric stitching using scale-invariant feature transform. Based on relevance vector machine, a region-based classification scheme and a grid-based classification scheme are developed to automatically identify tissue composition in human cardiac tissue and human breast tissue. These tools are collaboratively used to study OCT images from cardiac, cervical, and breast tissue. In cardiac tissue, we apply the fiber orientation analysis to reconstruct 3D cardiac myofibers tractography and perform pixel-wise fiber analysis on the collagen region within human heart. In addition, we apply the region-based algorithm to segment and classify tissue compositions, such as collagen, adipose tissue, fibrotic myocardium, and normal myocardium, over a single or a stitched OCT volume. Using our algorithm, we observe fiber directionality change over depths and find that the fiber orientation changes more dramatically in atria than in ventricle. We also observe different dispersion patterns within collagen layer. In cervical tissue, our stitching algorithm enables a paramount 3D view of entire axial slices. Together with pixel-wise fiber orientation scheme, we analyze the difference of dispersion property within inner/outer regions of four quadrants. We observe two dispersion patterns in pregnant and non-pregnant cervical tissue at the location close to upper cervix. In addition, we discover that an increasing trend of dispersion and an increasing trend of penetration depth from internal orifice (os) to external os. In breast tissue, we visualize various features in both benign and malignant tissues such as invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), ductal carcinoma in situ, cyst, and terminal duct lobule unit in stitched OCT images. Focusing on the automated detection of IDC, we propose a hierarchy framework of classification model and apply our classifier in two OCT systems and achieve both reasonable sensitivity and specificity in identifying cancerous region.

Introdução: O tratamento do buraco macular idiopático ainda é acompanhado de incertezas em relação ao seu prognóstico. Ao longo dos últimos anos, têm sido utilizados o tempo de história, o tamanho e a acuidade visual pré-operatória dos buracos como critérios de orientação quanto ao resultado visual final. O aspecto final da parte mais externa da retina foveal tem merecido especial atenção em relatos recentes. Neste trabalho, avaliou-se, por meio da tomografia de coerência óptica, a integridade da camada de fotorreceptores, correlacionando o seu aspecto final com a acuidade visual obtida em casos de buraco macular idiopático, fechados cirurgicamente. Métodos: Pacientes operados com sucesso e com seguimento mínimo de 12 meses foram submetidos à avaliação oftalmológica completa incluindo a medida da acuidade visual final em escala logMar, biomicroscopia de mácula, oftalmoscopia indireta e angiofluoresceinografia. Colheram-se dados sobre idade, sexo, raça, tempo de história e tamanho do buraco além da acuidade visual pré-operatória. Para a classificação das lesões, utilizaram-se os critérios definidos por Gass. Imagens tomográficas da camada correspondente aos fotorreceptores da retina na região foveal foram criteriosamente obtidas através da tomografia de coerência óptica. Uma avaliação qualitativa desta camada foi realizada por examinador experiente, de forma mascarada, com os pacientes então classificados em três grupos (1, 2 e 3), em ordem crescente de integridade. Resultados: Foram incluídos no estudo 39 olhos de 37 pacientes, sendo eles 22 mulheres (59,5%) e 15 homens (40,5%). A idade média foi de 68,2 anos variando entre 51 e 83 anos. O tempo de seguimento pós-operatório médio foi de 38,5 meses. Entre todos os olhos estudados, 12 foram incluídos no grupo 1 (menor integridade); sete, no grupo 2 e vinte, no grupo 3. Na comparação entre os grupos 1 e 3, a acuidade visual final melhorou em ambos; porém, com maior intensidade no grupo 3 (p<0,001). O tamanho pré-operatório do buraco e o tempo de história da doença não impactaram significativamente o resultado visual final (p=0,223 e p=0,559, respectivamente). A acuidade visual pré-operatória média foi maior no grupo 3 que no grupo 1 (p=0,012). Conclusões: Os dados obtidos através deste estudo sugerem correlação entre uma maior integridade da camada dos fotorreceptores e um melhor resultado visual de longo prazo, em pacientes com buraco macular idiopático, operados com sucesso. Embora a visão tenha melhorado em todos os grupos, a melhora foi significativamente maior no grupo 3 que no grupo 1. Em relação ao tamanho pré-operatório da lesão e o tempo de história da doença, não se observou impacto significativo no resultado. Uma melhor acuidade visual inicial pré-operatória pode influenciar positivamente a acuidade visual final. / Purpose: To evaluate the integrity of the retina photoreceptor layer as determined by optical coherence tomography and its relationship with final visual outcome in successfully closed idiopathic macular holes. Methods: Successfully operated patients with a minimal follow-up of 12 months, underwent complete ophthalmic exam involving post-operative best corrected visual acuity using logMar scale, macula biomicroscopy and indirect ophthalmoscopy and fluorescein angiography. Complete epidemiologic data was collected as well as time duration, pre-op visual acuity, and size and Gass classification of the holes. Optical coherence tomography images of the layer corresponding to the transition between inner and outer segments of the photoreceptors were meticulously generated using commercially available Stratus OCT (OCT3). Qualitative analysis of this layer was carried out, in a masked fashion, by a certified and well experienced examiner. Based on increasing integrity showed in the images, patients were then distributed in 3 groups: 1, 2 and 3. Group 1 integrity from 1 to 33%, group 2 from 34 to 66%, and group 3 from 67 to 100%. Results: A total of 39 eyes of 37 patients were included in the study. Among all patients, 12 were included in group 1, 7 in group 3 and 20 in group 3. There were 22 female (59,5%) and 15 male (40,5%). Mean age was 68.2 years varying from 51 to 83 years of age. Mean post-op follow-up time was 38.5 months. When comparing groups 1 and 3, best corrected final visual acuity improved in both groups but dramatically in group 3 (better integrity) (p<0.001). Pre-operative size and time duration of the hole did not correlate with better visual acuity (p=0.223 and p=0.559 respectively). Mean pre-op visual acuity was better in group 3 than in group 1 (p=0.012). Conclusion: Data obtained in our study indicate that there is a strong correlation between better integrity of the photoreceptor layer, as determined by optical coherence tomography, and a more successful final, long term, visual acuity in patients with idiopathic macular hole successfully operated. Although final visual acuity has improved in all groups, there was statistical difference between groups 1 and 3. Pre-operative size and time duration of the hole did not have impact on final visual acuity. Better pre-op visual acuity may have an effect on final outcome.

A Tomografia por Coerência Óptica (OCT) baseia-se na propriedade de retroespalhamento dos meios para construir imagens tomográficas do interior das amostras. De maneira similar, a técnica LIDAR (Light Detection and Range) faz uso desta propriedade para determinar as características da atmosfera, em especial o coeficiente de extinção do sinal. Explorar esta similaridade permitiu aplicar métodos de inversão utilizados na técnica LIDAR às imagens OCT, permitindo construir imagens de coeficiente de extinção, resultado inédito até o momento. Este trabalho teve o objetivo de estudar, propor, desenvolver e implementar algoritmos de métodos de inversão do sinal OCT para determinação do coeficiente de extinção em função da profundidade. Foram utilizados três métodos de inversão, da inclinação, do ponto de contorno e da profundidade óptica, com implementação em ambiente LABView&reg; . Estudo dos erros associados aos métodos de inversão foi realizado e, amostras reais (homogêneas e estratificadas) foram utilizadas para análises em uma e duas dimensões. As imagens de coeficiente de extinção obtidas pelo método da profundidade óptica claramente foram capazes de diferenciar o ar da amostra. As imagens foram estudadas empregando PCA e análise de clusters que avaliou a robustez da técnica em determinar o valor do coeficiente de extinção da amostra. Além disso, o método da profundidade óptica proposto foi empregado para estudar a hipótese de que existe correlação entre o coeficiente de extinção do sinal e a desmineralização de esmalte dental durante o processo cariogênico. Com a aplicação desta metodologia foi possível observar a variação do coeficiente de extinção em função da profundidade e sua correlação com a variação da microdureza, além de mostrar que em camadas mais profundas o valor do coeficiente de extinção valor tende ao de um dente sadio, comportando-se da mesma maneira que a microdureza do dente. / Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is based on the media backscatering properties in order to obtain tomographic images. In a similar way, LIDAR (Light Detection and Range) technique uses these properties to determine atmospheric characteristics, specially the signal extinction coeficient. Exploring this similarity allowed the application of signal inversion methods to the OCT images, allowing to construct images based in the extinction coeficient, original result until now. The goal of this work was to study, propose, develop and implement algorithms based on OCT signal inversion methodologies with the aim of determine the extinction coeficient as a function of depth. Three inversion methods were used and implemented in LABView&reg; : slope, boundary point and optical depth. Associated errors were studied and real samples (homogeneous and stratified) were used for two and three dimension analysis. The extinction coeficient images obtained from the optical depth method were capable to diferentiate air from the sample. The images were studied applying PCA and cluster analysis that established the methodology strength in determining the sample´s extinction coefficient value. Moreover, the optical depth methodology was applied to study the hipothesis that there is some correlation between signal extinction coeficient and the enamel teeth demineralization during a cariogenic process. By applying this methodology, it was possible to observe the variation of the extinction coefficient as depth function and its correlation with microhardness variation, showing that in deeper layers its values tends to a healthy tooth values, behaving as the same way that the microhardness.

Diabete melito é umas das principais endocrinopatias, caracterizada pela deficiência relativa ou absoluta de insulina, que pode resultar em diversas manifestações oculares, sendo as mais frequentes a retinopatia diabética e a catarata. Retinopatia diabética (RD) é uma microangiopatia que afeta primeiramente as arteríolas pré-capilares, capilares, vênulas pós-capilares e vasos de maior calibre, causando incompetência funcional e anatômica dos vasos retinianos. A hiperglicemia pode ser a causa mais provável da lesão retiniana, interferindo nas vias de metabolismo celular e no processo de transdução. Os achados fundoscópicos incluem: microaneurismas, dilatação e tortuosidade das vênulas retinianas, hiper-refletividade da área tapetal e exsudatos coriorretinianos. Como a catarata impossibilita a fundoscopia, a prevalência da retinopatia diabética nos cães não esta totalmente esclarecida, sugerindo que esta seja na forma não proliferativa. Objetivou-se neste estudo, determinar a prevalência das alterações fundoscópicas relacionadas à retinopatia diabética em cães, com auxílio de documentação fotográfica (retinografia) e tomografia de coerência óptica (OCT). Vinte e dois cães diabéticos, 18 fêmeas e quatro machos, com idade variando de seis a 15 anos, provenientes do Serviço de Oftalmologia da Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia da Universidade de São Paulo, foram submetidos a acompanhamento por meio da retinografia durante o período de 12 meses. Para realização do exame de OCT foram selecionados oito cães dos 22 animais avaliados, quatro fêmeas e quatro machos, com idades variando de seis a 15 anos para compor o grupo diabete melito (GDM), e nove cães sendo cinco fêmeas e quatro machos, com idades entre quatro e 15 anos, sem quaisquer alterações oculares e não diabéticos formaram o grupo controle (GCO). Os cães diabéticos acompanhados durante 12 meses apresentaram alteração vascular, microaneurismas e hemorragias, e alterações na coloração e refletividade da área tapetal. Sendo que dois cães, dos 22 animais avaliados, apresentaram hemorragia em mancha no último período de avaliação, e um cão apresentou focos hemorrágicos durante todo o período de avaliação. A espessura e arquitetura retiniana realizada pela OCT nos cães diabéticos, demonstrou afinamento das camadas da retina e perda da estratificação em comparação com os animais controle (198 &micro;m versus 219 &micro;m, respectivamente), sendo esta redução estatisticamente significante. Com os achados retinográficos deste estudo podemos confirmar que as lesões são compatíveis com a RD não proliferativa sem comprometimento visual, e baseado nas imagens da OCT pode-se sugerir que a diabete melito, no cão, cause neuropatia retiniana como descrito em humanos diabéticos / Diabetes mellitus is one of the most frequent endocrine disorders, characterized by relative or absolute deficiency of insulin, which can induces several ocular manifestations, among them diabetic retinopathy and cataract. Diabetic Retinopathy is a microangiopathy that affects the precapillary, arterioles, capillaries, postcapillary venules, and the large vessels, causing them to be functionally and anatomically incompetent. Hyperglycemia seems to be the most probably cause of retinal damage, interfering in the cellular metabolism process and in transduction process. The fundoscopic findings are microaneurysm, retinal venular dilatation and tortuosity, hyperreflectivity of tapetal area and chorioretinal exsudates. Because the cataract precludes fundoscopic examination, the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy in dogs is not completely elucidated, but suggests that disease is nonproliferative form. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of fundus changes related to diabetic retinopathy in dogs, with photography documentation (fundus camera) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Twenty-two diabetic dogs, 18 females and four males, from six to 15 years, from Serviço de Oftalmologia da Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia da Universidade de São Paulo, underwent monitoring by retinography during the period 12 months. For the OCT examination were selected eight dogs of the 22 evaluated animals, four females and four males, from six to 15 years formed the group diabetes mellitus (GDM), and nine dogs with five females and four males, from 4 to 15 years, with no ocular alterations and non-diabetic formed the control group (GC). Diabetic dogs followed for 12 months showed vascular changes, microaneurisms and hemorrhage, and changes in colour and reflections of tapetal area. Two dogs, among the 22 animals studied, presented hemorrhage stain in the last period, and one dog presented hemorrhage focus throughout the evaluation period. The thickness and retinal architecture performed by OCT in diabetic dogs showed thinning of the retinal layers with loss of stratification compared to control animals (198 &micro;m versus 219 &micro;m, respectively), with a statistically significant difference. Based on fundus findings of this study we can confirm that the lesions are compatible with DR nonproliferative without visual impairment. The OCT images may suggest that diabetes mellitus in the dog causes retinal neuropathy as described in diabetic humans

Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a adaptação marginal em restaurações classe II em dentina e esmalte dental utilizando um sistema adesivo universal de acordo com três técnicas diferentes de aplicação: Autocondicionante, condicionamento seletivo e condicionamento total, através do sistema de tomografia por coerência óptica (OCT), antes e após ao envelhecimento por termociclagem (TC). Preparos classe II foram confeccionados nas paredes mesial e distal, em 30 molares hígidos humanos, com término da cavidade em esmalte e em dentina. Todos os espécimenes foram restaurados (adesivo Single Bond Universal e resina composta Filtek Z350 XT) nas três técnicas de aplicação. Os dentes foram distribuídos aleatoriamente em três grupos (n=10), sendo um para cada técnica de aplicação adesiva: Grupo I: autocondicionante, Grupo II: condicionamento seletivo e Grupo III: condicionamento total; em seguida os grupos foram avaliados antes e depois a termociclagem pelo sistema de tomografia por coerência ótica. De posse dos corpos de prova devidamente restaurados, partimos para os procedimentos de termociclagem (1000 ciclos de 1 minuto com intervalo de 30 segundos) e a avaliação pelo sistema de Tomografia por Coerência Óptica. Em seguida, as amostras foram examinadas por meio de imagens geradas pelo OCT e os dados foram submetidos ao teste estatístico não-paramétricos de Kruskal-Wallis e Dunn (p<0.05). Foi observada diferença estatisticamente significante da adaptação marginal entre os grupos com término em esmalte (p= 0.0073); para os grupos com término em dentina, não foi observada diferença estatisticamente significante na adaptação marginal (p=0.2063). Conclui-se que o OCT foi, então, capaz de diagnosticar a microinfiltração marginal nas restaurações em cavidades classe II. Existe deterioração das margens e alteração de padrão de infiltração marginal com as diferentes técnicas adesivas dos preparos classe II restauradas com resina em esmalte. Atribui-se à termociclagem a falha de vedamento marginal observada nos espécimes após em esmalte. / This study aimed to evaluate the marginal adaptation of Class II restorations in enamel and dentin using a universal adhesive according to three different application techniques: self-etching, selective packaging and selective conditioning through the system optical coherence tomography (OCT) before and after aging thermocycling (TC). Class II preparations were made in the mesial and distal surfaces in 30 healthy human molars, with completion in enamel and dentin. All samples were restored ( composite Filtek Z350 XT resin Universal Single Bond) in three application techniques. The teeth were randomized into three groups (n = 10), one for each adhesive application technique: Group I: etching, Group II: engraved selective and Group III: Engraving the total; then the groups were assessed before and after thermal cycling through the system optical coherence tomography (OCT). With properly restored specimens, we went to the procedures of thermal cycles (1000 cycles of one minute at intervals of 30 seconds) and evaluation system through optical coherence tomography. Then the samples were examined by OCT-generated images and data were subjected to a non-parametric statistical test Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn (p <0.05). Was observed found statistically significant difference in marginal adaptation between the groups ended in tooth enamel (p = 0.0073); for groups with completion in dental dentin, there was no statistically significant difference in marginal adaptation (p = 0.2063). It is concluded that the OCT was then able to diagnose the microleakage in restorations in class II cavities. There are margins deterioration and changes in microleakage standard with different adhesive techniques of class II preparations restored with resin enamel. Assigns to the thermal cycling the marginal sealing failure observed in specimens in enamel.

Diabete melito é umas das principais endocrinopatias, caracterizada pela deficiência relativa ou absoluta de insulina, que pode resultar em diversas manifestações oculares, sendo as mais frequentes a retinopatia diabética e a catarata. Retinopatia diabética (RD) é uma microangiopatia que afeta primeiramente as arteríolas pré-capilares, capilares, vênulas pós-capilares e vasos de maior calibre, causando incompetência funcional e anatômica dos vasos retinianos. A hiperglicemia pode ser a causa mais provável da lesão retiniana, interferindo nas vias de metabolismo celular e no processo de transdução. Os achados fundoscópicos incluem: microaneurismas, dilatação e tortuosidade das vênulas retinianas, hiper-refletividade da área tapetal e exsudatos coriorretinianos. Como a catarata impossibilita a fundoscopia, a prevalência da retinopatia diabética nos cães não esta totalmente esclarecida, sugerindo que esta seja na forma não proliferativa. Objetivou-se neste estudo, determinar a prevalência das alterações fundoscópicas relacionadas à retinopatia diabética em cães, com auxílio de documentação fotográfica (retinografia) e tomografia de coerência óptica (OCT). Vinte e dois cães diabéticos, 18 fêmeas e quatro machos, com idade variando de seis a 15 anos, provenientes do Serviço de Oftalmologia da Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia da Universidade de São Paulo, foram submetidos a acompanhamento por meio da retinografia durante o período de 12 meses. Para realização do exame de OCT foram selecionados oito cães dos 22 animais avaliados, quatro fêmeas e quatro machos, com idades variando de seis a 15 anos para compor o grupo diabete melito (GDM), e nove cães sendo cinco fêmeas e quatro machos, com idades entre quatro e 15 anos, sem quaisquer alterações oculares e não diabéticos formaram o grupo controle (GCO). Os cães diabéticos acompanhados durante 12 meses apresentaram alteração vascular, microaneurismas e hemorragias, e alterações na coloração e refletividade da área tapetal. Sendo que dois cães, dos 22 animais avaliados, apresentaram hemorragia em mancha no último período de avaliação, e um cão apresentou focos hemorrágicos durante todo o período de avaliação. A espessura e arquitetura retiniana realizada pela OCT nos cães diabéticos, demonstrou afinamento das camadas da retina e perda da estratificação em comparação com os animais controle (198 &micro;m versus 219 &micro;m, respectivamente), sendo esta redução estatisticamente significante. Com os achados retinográficos deste estudo podemos confirmar que as lesões são compatíveis com a RD não proliferativa sem comprometimento visual, e baseado nas imagens da OCT pode-se sugerir que a diabete melito, no cão, cause neuropatia retiniana como descrito em humanos diabéticos / Diabetes mellitus is one of the most frequent endocrine disorders, characterized by relative or absolute deficiency of insulin, which can induces several ocular manifestations, among them diabetic retinopathy and cataract. Diabetic Retinopathy is a microangiopathy that affects the precapillary, arterioles, capillaries, postcapillary venules, and the large vessels, causing them to be functionally and anatomically incompetent. Hyperglycemia seems to be the most probably cause of retinal damage, interfering in the cellular metabolism process and in transduction process. The fundoscopic findings are microaneurysm, retinal venular dilatation and tortuosity, hyperreflectivity of tapetal area and chorioretinal exsudates. Because the cataract precludes fundoscopic examination, the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy in dogs is not completely elucidated, but suggests that disease is nonproliferative form. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of fundus changes related to diabetic retinopathy in dogs, with photography documentation (fundus camera) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Twenty-two diabetic dogs, 18 females and four males, from six to 15 years, from Serviço de Oftalmologia da Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia da Universidade de São Paulo, underwent monitoring by retinography during the period 12 months. For the OCT examination were selected eight dogs of the 22 evaluated animals, four females and four males, from six to 15 years formed the group diabetes mellitus (GDM), and nine dogs with five females and four males, from 4 to 15 years, with no ocular alterations and non-diabetic formed the control group (GC). Diabetic dogs followed for 12 months showed vascular changes, microaneurisms and hemorrhage, and changes in colour and reflections of tapetal area. Two dogs, among the 22 animals studied, presented hemorrhage stain in the last period, and one dog presented hemorrhage focus throughout the evaluation period. The thickness and retinal architecture performed by OCT in diabetic dogs showed thinning of the retinal layers with loss of stratification compared to control animals (198 &micro;m versus 219 &micro;m, respectively), with a statistically significant difference. Based on fundus findings of this study we can confirm that the lesions are compatible with DR nonproliferative without visual impairment. The OCT images may suggest that diabetes mellitus in the dog causes retinal neuropathy as described in diabetic humans

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is becoming an increasingly important modality for the noninvasive assessment of a variety of ocular diseases such as glaucoma, diabetic macular edema, and age-related macular degeneration. Even though individual layers of the retina are visible on OCT images, current commercial quantitative assessment is limited to measuring the thickness of only one layer. Because each intraretinal layer may be affected differently by disease, an intraretinal layer segmentation approach is needed to enable quantification of individual layer properties, such as thickness or texture. Furthermore, with the latest generation of OCT scanner systems producing true volumetric image data, processing these images using 3-D methods is important for maximal extraction of image information. In this thesis, an optimal 3-D graph search approach for the intraretinal layer segmentation of OCT images is presented. It is built upon the optimal 3-D multiple surface graph-theoretic approach presented by Li et al. (K. Li, X. Wu, D. Z. Chen, and M. Sonka, "Optimal surface segmentation in volumetric images - a graph-theoretic approach," IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 119-134, 2006). In this method, multiple surfaces can be found simultaneously by transforming the 3-D segmentation problem into finding a minimum-cost closed set in a corresponding vertex-weighted geometric graph. However, the original formulation of this approach did not incorporate varying feasibility constraints or true regional information, two extensions that would aid in the intraretinal layer segmentation of OCT images. Thus, the major contributions of this thesis include: 1) extending the optimal 3-D graph-theoretic segmentation approach to allow for the incorporation of varying feasibility constraints and regional information, 2) developing a method for learning varying constraints and cost functions from examples for use in the approach, 3) developing and validating a method for the 3-D segmentation of intraretinal layers in both time-domain and spectral-domain OCT images (achieving error rates comparable to that of multiple human experts), and 4) analyzing layer thickness properties in normal subjects and in patients with anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION).