Ploner, Stefan

Since its recent transfer from research to the clinic, OCT Angiography (OCTA) is revolutionizing the field of ophthalmic Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). Whereas OCTA provides detailed information on vasculature today, to take full advantage, novel image processing algorithms are still to be developed. For example, algorithms like Variable Interscan Time Analysis (VISTA) could add the whole new dimension of blood flow speed to OCT data, and more advanced removal of decorrelation tail artifacts could improve the analysis of the deep vascular layer. An ongoing research topic of our group is the correction of motion artifacts, which have an especially high impact on OCTA data. Robust and accurate motion correction is thus essential for the reconstruction of high quality OCTA signals, however, current algorithms do not yet model the newer OCTA scanning protocols precisely.

The goal of my PhD is to fill these gaps and to bring these promising advancements to the clinic. To make this possible, I'm in close collaboration with the Biomedical Optical Imaging and Biophotonics Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA, the group who built the first and still develops most advanced ophthalmic OCT systems to date, and the New England Eye Center, Boston, USA, the first clinic that used OCT technology in patient care.