Correlation of quantitative light-induced fluorescence and optical coherence tomography applied for detection and quantification of early dental caries

Bennett T. Amaechi, Adrian Podoleanu, Susan M. Higham, David A. Jackson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

129 Scopus citations

Abstract

Fluorescence loss in enamel following demineralization has been correlated with the amount of mineral lost during the demineralization. The correlation between fluorescence loss measured by quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) and the reflectivity loss measured by a versatile en face optical coherence tomography (OCT) system was investigated in a demineralization process to produce artificial dental caries. We used an OCT system that can collect A-scans (reflectivity versus depth), B-scans (longitudinal images), and C-scans (en face images). The power to the sample was 250 μW, the wave-length λ = 850 nm, and the depth resolution in air 16 μm. A-scans, which show the profile of the reflectivity versus the depth of penetration into the tooth tissue, were used for quantitative analysis of the reflectivity loss. The results have shown that both the fluorescence radiance and reflectivity of the enamel decrease with increasing demineralization time. A linear correlation was observed between the percentage of fluorescence loss measured by QLF and the percentage of reflectivity loss measured by OCT. It was concluded that the decrease in reflectivity of the enamel during demineralization, measured by OCT, could be related to the amount of mineral lost during the demineralization process

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)642-647
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of biomedical optics
Volume8
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2003

Keywords

  • Caries diagnosis
  • Confocal imaging
  • Dental caries
  • Dental imaging
  • Low coherence interferometry
  • Optical coherence tomography
  • Quantitative light-induced fluorescence

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biomaterials

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