Title: Simulating optical coherence tomography for observing nerve activity: a finite difference time domain bi-dimensional model,
Abstract: We present a finite difference time domain (FDTD) model for computation of A
line scans in time domain optical coherence tomography (OCT). By simulating
only the end of the two arms of the interferometer and computing the
interference signal in post processing, it is possible to reduce the
computational time required by the simulations and, thus, to simulate much
bigger environments. Moreover, it is possible to simulate successive A lines
and thus obtaining a cross section of the sample considered. In this paper we
present the model applied to two different samples: a glass rod filled with
water-sucrose solution at different concentrations and a peripheral nerve. This
work demonstrates the feasibility of using OCT for non-invasive, direct optical
monitoring of peripheral nerve activity, which is a long-sought goal of
neuroscience.