Volumetric cutaneous microangiography of human skin in vivo by VCSEL swept-source optical coherence tomography

that utilizes a 1.3 µm high-speed swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). The swept source is based on a MEMS tunable vertical cavity surface emission laser (VCSEL) that is advantageous in terms of long coherence length over 50 mm and 100 nm spectral bandwidth that enables the visualization of microstructures within a few mm from the skin surface. We show that skin microvasculature can be delineated in 3D SS-OCT images using ultrahigh-sensitive optical microangiography (UHS-OMAG) with a correlation mapping mask, providing a contrast enhanced blood perfusion map with capillary flow sensitivity. 3D microangiograms of a healthy human finger are shown with distinct cutaneous vessel architectures from different dermal layers and even within hypodermis. These findings suggest that the OCT microangiography could be a beneficial biomedical assay to assess cutaneous vascular functions in clinic.