Common-path-based device for magnetomotive OCT noise reduction.

Magnetomotive optical coherence tomography (MMOCT) is a promising imaging method for noninvasive three-dimensional tracking of magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) motions in target tissues or organs. The external B-field is the driving force that provides MMOCT contrast. However, B-field modulation also introduces modulation noise, thereby decreasing the quality of the MMOCT image. In this paper, a common-path-based device is designed for modulation noise reduction. The device is capable of adjusting interference distance, reference light intensity, and imaging position (X-Y translation). The sensitivity of the MMOCT is increased by ∼20 times with the new device. Using the proposed device, the distribution of MNPs injected in zebrafish was imaged.