We used a novel phase-resolved optical Doppler tomographic (ODT) technique with very high flow-velocity sensitivity (10microm/s) and high spatial resolution (10microm) to image blood flow in port-wine stain (PWS) birthmarks in human skin. In addition to the regular ODT velocity and structural images, we use the variance of blood flow velocity to map the PWS vessels. Our device combines ODT and therapeutic systems such that PWS blood flow can be monitored in situ before and after laser treatment. To the authors' knowledge this is the first clinical application of ODT to provide a fast semiquantitative evaluation of the efficacy of PWS laser therapy in situ and in real time.

A high-speed single-mode fiber-based polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS OCT) system was developed. With a polarization modulator, Stokes parameters of reflected flight for four input polarization states are measured as a function of depth. A phase modulator in the reference arm of a Michelson interferometer permits independent control of the axial scan rate and carrier frequency. In vivo PS OCT images of human skin are presented, showing subsurface structures that are not discernible in conventional OCT images. A phase retardation image in tissue is calculated based on the reflected Stokes parameters of the four input polarization states.

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