18 Apr Optical coherence tomography: new VDI/VDE guideline

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique that generates high-resolution sectional images of transparent and semi-transparent media. The Technical Committee 1.32 ‘Optical Coherence Tomography’ in the department ‘Methodology of Measurement and Sensor Technology’ of the VDI/VDE Association for Measurement and Automation Technology has set itself the goal of bringing together expertise from industry and research in order to jointly publish a standardized set of rules for OCT and thus open the way for further OCT application fields in the future. This is because the comparatively new measurement method has not yet been described in a generally applicable manner, and various procedures and performance characteristics have not yet been standardized. This means that the comparability of different OCT systems is not yet given, according to the expert committee, and more widespread use is limited. “Knowledge of and confidence in OCT should be promoted by a general set of technical rules,” explains Niels König, head of the Production Measurement Technology department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen, Germany, and chairman of the expert committee. “To this end, we have now defined terms and measurement methods for performance parameters and described typical process variants as a first step.”
In January 2023, the guideline VDI/VDE 5565 Part 1 ‘Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT); Process Descriptions’ has now been published in a bilingual edition (German/English) The guideline describes the OCT procedures and defines the necessary terms. The committee is already working on VDI/VDE 5565 Sheet 2 on ‘Signal processing and data evaluation’. The metrological characterization of OCT systems is on the roadmap for further guideline projects.

From biomedicine to industry

Originally used in ophthalmology, OCT is a measurement technique based on short-coherent interferometry for non-contact, high-resolution imaging of tomographic cross-sectional images. It has a penetration depth of several millimeters and a resolving power in the single-digit micrometer range. In medical diagnostics, OCT can be used to examine organic tissue, such as tumor tissue, at a very early stage of disease, either intraoperatively or in vitro. But OCT is also used in industry thanks to its universal properties in material and defect testing, for example in plastic products. In the case of opaque materials into which the light cannot penetrate, for example metal, OCT is used for surface and distance measurement.
The guideline VDI/VDE 5565 part 1 ‘Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) – Process descriptions’ can be ordered from 73,80 Euro at Beuth Verlag (Tel.: +49 30 2601-2260). VDI members receive a 10 % discount on all VDI guidelines.

Source: www.vdi.de/en

Image: Heidelberg Engineering