Stick-slip nonuniform rotation distortion correction in distal scanning optical coherence tomography catheters

Abstract

We present a robust and fiducial-marker-free algorithm that can identify and correct stick-slip distortion caused by nonuniform rotation (or beam scanning) in distally scanned catheters for endoscopic optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. This algorithm employs spatial frequency analysis to select and remove distortions. We demonstrate the feasibility of this algorithm on images acquired from <i>ex vivo</i> rat colon with a distally scanned DC motor-based endoscope. The proposed algorithm can be applied to general endoscopic OCT images for correcting nonuniform rotation distortion.