Feature: T&M
Advanced data acquisition for better medical scanning systems
By Teledyne SP engineers O
ptical coherence tomography (OCT) is an essential tool in medicine today, providing crucial imaging. The swept-
source OCT (SS-OCT) is now emerging as a preferred technology because of its superior imaging speed, depth penetration and sensitivity. By using swept laser sources, SS-OCT enables high-resolution, real-time visualisation of tissue microstructures, making it particularly valuable in applications like ophthalmology, cardiology, dermatology and dental imaging. At the core of the instrument is the
data acquisition system. The digitizer is responsible for accurately capturing interferometric signals, and directly affects image quality, imaging depth and scan speed. And as SS-OCT systems continue to evolve, with higher scan speeds, better axial resolutions and greater imaging depths, the demands
placed on digitizers are becoming even greater. These include calls for even higher sampling rates, bandwidths and dynamic ranges, and image processing in real time.
SS-OCT vs SD-OCT There is another technology used in these sectors – spectral domain OCT, or SD-OCT. When compared to SD- OCTs (Table 1), SS-OCTs offer faster scan rates, deeper tissue penetration and far less sensitivity roll-off thanks to their high speed swept lasers source and single photodetector design. Their longer operating wavelength (about 1050nm) improves imaging through scattering tissues, enabling superior visualisation of biological structures. SS-OCTs also provide higher signal- to-noise performance and more stable phase information, making them especially powerful for high- density volumetric imaging and OCT angiography.
38 July/August 2026
www.electronicsworld.co.uk At the core of these systems are swept
lasers. Historically they were the most expensive part of the SS-OCTs, but new semiconductor-based tunable lasers that use MEMS VCSELs are being designed for low cost, high-volume production, making these instruments affordable and more competitive.
SS-OCT digitizer requirements Overall system performance is tightly constrained by the quality and capability of the digitizer. Developers are not simply looking for fast data acquisition; they need digitizers that combine high sampling rates, analogue bandwidth and ENOB performance with low jitter, for the accurate capture of GHz interferometric fringes. They also require deterministic timing, real-time k-space linearisation and high throughput streaming to support real-time imaging pipelines. System performance is ultimately limited by the digitizer’s ability to acquire clean,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
