Anisotropic elasticity measurements of the retina using optical coherence elastography

Anisotropic elasticity measurements of the retina are essential for retinal disease diagnosis and function assessment. Optical coherence elastography (OCE) is a high-resolution imaging technique for mapping the elasticity distribution of tissues. However, previous OCE measurements quantified the tissue elasticity in a single direction, resulting in a biased estimation of the elastic properties. In this study, we propose an OCE method with acoustic radiation force (ARF) excitation to map the retinal anisotropic elasticity in the depth and lateral directions. The axial elasticity was analyzed using the natural frequency of free vibration, and the lateral elasticity was quantified using the elastic wave velocity. After evaluating the feasibility of the OCE method on the phantoms, the anisotropic elasticity of ex vivo porcine retinas was mapped. The results show that the OCE method with ARF excitation can assess the elasticity in orthogonal directions and provide a comprehensive understanding of the elasticity of the anisotropic tissues.