Dynamic optical coherence tomography algorithm for label-free assessment of swiftness and occupancy of intratissue moving scatterers

Dynamic optical coherence tomography (DOCT) statistically analyzes fluctuations in time-sequential OCT signals, enabling label-free and three-dimensional visualization of intratissue and intracellular activities. Current DOCT methods, such as logarithmic intensity variance (LIV) and OCT correlation decay speed (OCDS), have several limitations. Namely, the DOCT values and intratissue motions are not directly related, and hence DOCT values are not interpretable in the context of the tissue motility. We introduce an open-source DOCT algorithm that provides a more direct interpretation of DOCT in the context of dynamic scatterer ratio and scatterer speed in the tissue. The detailed properties of the new and conventional DOCT methods are investigated by numerical simulations based on our open-source DOCT simulation framework, and the experimental validation with in vitro and ex vivo samples demonstrates the feasibility of the method.