Effective Multiple Scattering Correction for Accurate Quantitative OCT

We present an effective approach to compensate for multiple scattering effects in Quantitative Optical Coherence Tomography (qOCT) imaging, with the goal of accurately extracting tissue attenuation coefficients, which is crucial for precise clinical diagnosis. In clinical practice, especially for intra-operative imaging, an increased working distance is often necessary to avoid interference with surgical instruments and workflow. However, this increased working distance corresponds to an increased beam spot size, leading to more multiply scattered photons in the OCT signal and thereby underestimating the optical attenuation. To address this challenge, we investigated errors in attenuation coefficient quantification under different beam spot sizes. Monte Carlo simulations were employed to generate virtual OCT signals for two distinct beam spot sizes, enabling us to quantify the errors induced by multiple scattering across a range of true optical attenuation coefficients. Based on this analysis, we developed a compensation function to correct these errors. The proposed method was validated through experimental measurements using tissue-mimicking phantoms and demonstrated a significant improvement in the accuracy of attenuation coefficient quantification. Our results underscore the potential of this easy-to-implement technique to enhance the diagnostic reliability of qOCT, facilitating its broader application in clinical settings for accurate tissue characterization.