OCT-based Interferometric Retinal Imaging

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) enables non-invasive depth-resolved imaging of the retina with micrometric precision. By exploiting low-coherence interferometry, OCT provides three-dimensional structural information together with sensitivity to nanometric optical path length variations in living tissue.

Our research advances interferometric retinal imaging through parallel acquisition strategies and coherence engineering. By controlling spatial and temporal coherence properties, we develop full-field and line-field OCT approaches aimed at combining fine structural detail with extended fields-of-view and high-speed acquisition. These designs enable high-resolution structural and functional imaging of retinal photoreceptors while relying on simplified adaptive optics correction.

Such approaches support visualization of photoreceptor mosaics and phase-sensitive measurements of light-evoked responses, forming the basis of in vivo optoretinography. By combining cellular-scale imaging with wide-field acquisition and streamlined hardware, this research seeks to establish interferometric retinal imaging as a scalable framework for neuronal imaging that remains compatible with clinical translation.

Spatial Coherence and Aberration Tolerance in Full-Field OCT

Through analytical modeling and quantitative metrics, we investigate how spatial coherence and ocular aberrations interact in full-field OCT. Our work has shown that full-field OCT under spatially incoherent illumination exhibits intrinsic tolerance to dominant low-order aberrations, and allows for simplified, sensorless adaptive optics correction. These findings establish spatial coherence engineering as a central design parameter in full-field OCT retinal imaging.

Time-Domain Full-Field OCT for In Vivo Retinal Imaging

Building on the conceptual advances regarding the influence of spatially incoherent illumination in full-field OCT, we developed time-domain full-field OCT systems for in vivo retinal imaging based on parallel en face acquisition. By integrating axial motion stabilization with simplified adaptive correction strategies, this architecture enables cellular-resolution imaging of photoreceptors and nerve fiber layer across substantially larger retinal areas within a compact and clinically compatible design.

Images acquired at the same location, but at different depths in the human retina using Full-Field OCT. Left: Cone photoreceptors. Right: Nerve fiber layer.

Optoretinography in Time-Domain Full-Field OCT

We developed a wide-field optoretinography (ORG) strategy within the time-domain full-field OCT framework, enabling depth-resolved functional imaging of photoreceptors in vivo. By combining spectral shaping with amplitude-based signal extraction, this approach allows light-evoked responses to be mapped across extended retinal areas within a single en face acquisition.

Cellular resolution Full-Field OCT Optoretinography over a wide field-of-view (5° X 5°)

17/11/2025 in OCT-Research-Theme, Publication

Wide-field cellular-resolution retinal imaging using deformable mirror-based sensorless adaptive optics time-domain full-field OCT

Yao Cai, Olivier Martinache, Maxime Bertrand, Clémentine Callet, Olivier Thouvenin, Kate Grieve, and Pedro Mecê

31/10/2025 in OCT-Research-Theme, Publication

Guide to dynamic OCT data analysis

Noah Heldt, Tual Monfort, Rion Morishita, Robert Schönherr, Olivier Thouvenin, Ibrahim Abd El-Sadek, Peter König, Gereon Hüttmann, Kate Grieve, and Yoshiaki Yasuno

31/10/2025 in OCT-Research-Theme, Publication

Rapid spectral shaping for time domain and swept source full field OCT

Dimitri Roueff, Pedro Mecê, and Olivier Thouvenin

16/04/2024 in OCT-Research-Theme, Publication

Influence of static and dynamic ocular aberrations on full-field optical coherence tomography for in vivo high-resolution retinal imaging

Yao Cai, Olivier Thouvenin, Kate Grieve, and Pedro Mecê

12/07/2022 in OCT-Research-Theme, Publication

Characterization and Analysis of Retinal Axial Motion at High Spatiotemporal Resolution and Its Implication for Real-Time Correction in Human Retinal Imaging

Yao Cai, Kate Grieve, Pedro Mecê

28/06/2021 in OCT-Research-Theme

Manifestation of aberrations in full-field optical coherence tomography

Victor Barolle, Jules Scholler, Pedro Mecê, Jean-Marie Chassot, Kassandra Groux, Mathias Fink, A. Claude Boccara, and Alexandre Aubry

16/10/2020 in OCT-Research-Theme, Publication

Adaptive-glasses time-domain FFOCT for wide-field high-resolution retinal imaging with increased SNR

Jules Scholler, Kassandra Groux, Kate Grieve, Claude Boccara, and Pedro Mecê

07/08/2020 in OCT-Research-Theme, Publication

Coherence gate shaping for wide field high-resolution in vivo retinal imaging with full-field OCT

Pedro Mecê, Kassandra Groux, Jules Scholler, Olivier Thouvenin, Mathias Fink, Kate Grieve, and Claude Boccara

23/12/2019 in OCT-Research-Theme, Publication

High-resolution in-vivo human retinal imaging using full-field OCT with optical stabilization of axial motion

Pedro Mecê, Jules Scholler, Kassandra Groux, and Claude Boccara

Pedro Mecê

PhD CNRS Researcher at Institut Langevin

Principal Investigator, CLARITY Research Group
Pedro Mecê is a CNRS Research Scientist at Institut Langevin (CNRS/ESPCI Paris – PSL), and co-leader of the CLARITY Research Group. He leads research on in vivo retinal imaging using OCT-based interferometric and phase-contrast optical methods. His work lies at the interface between optical physics and biomedical imaging, with the ambition of transforming retinal imaging into a tool for probing neuronal and vascular function at cellular resolution.

He completed a CIFRE PhD in collaboration with ONERA and Quantel Medical, focusing on adaptive optics–assisted retinal laser surgery with micrometric precision. He subsequently joined Institut Langevin as a postdoctoral researcher, where he pioneered the implementation of time-domain full-field OCT for in vivo human retinal imaging. In 2022, he was appointed CNRS Research Scientist to develop new optical architectures, wavefront engineering strategies, and computational imaging approaches aimed at extracting structural and functional biomarkers from the living human retina.

His research is driven by the unique accessibility of the retina as the only optically transparent window into the central nervous system, enabling direct investigation of neuronal and vascular networks in vivo at cellular scale.

His work has been recognized by several scientific awards, including thesis prizes from the French Microscopy Society (Sfµ) and the French Society for Biological and Medical Engineering (SFGBM), as well as international distinctions from OPTICA, SPIE and ARVO. He is the recipient of the ANR JCJC BRAINS project (2023-2027) and currently leads the ERC MIRACLE-AD (2026-2031). He is co-founder of the start-up SharpEye and an active member of the Paris Eye Imaging Group, which brings together physicists and clinicians at the Quinze-Vingts National Eye Hospital.

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Olivier Thouvenin

PhD, Hab., Assistant Professor at ESPCI

Olivier Thouvenin is Associate Professor of Optics at ESPCI Paris – PSL and co-leader of the CLARITY Research Group. His research focuses on label-free optical microscopy, quantitative imaging, and biophysical signal analysis. He develops advanced full-field optical methods and data-processing strategies to investigate dynamic biological processes without exogenous contrast agents.
He obtained a Master’s degree in Biophysics from ENS Lyon and Université Paris 7 in 2014 and completed his PhD in Optical Microscopy in 2017, during which he co-invented Dynamic Full-Field OCT (D-FFOCT). After postdoctoral work studying cerebrospinal fluid mechanics and its role in zebrafish scoliosis models, he joined ESPCI Paris as Assistant Professor, where he now leads a research group dedicated to label-free imaging and quantitative biophysics.
His contributions have been recognized internationally. In 2018, Nature identified him as one of eleven international rising stars. He received the Prix Edouard Branly in 2023 and the Prix des Innovateurs from Région Île-de-France in 2024. In 2024, he co-founded Lutèce Dynamics, a company dedicated to the dissemination of Dynamic FFOCT technologies for biology and pharmacology.

Inès Loukili

Postdoctoral Researcher

Inès is currently a postdoctoral researcher (former PhD student) in our group. Her work focuses on the theoretical and computational modeling of interferometric retinal imaging for both structural and functional applications. She develops analytical frameworks and numerical simulations to describe how spatial and temporal coherence influence image formation and performance in full-field and line-field OCT systems. Her contributions provide the quantitative foundations that guide the design and optimization of coherence-engineered approaches for in vivo retinal imaging.
She completed her engineering degree at Institut d’Optique Graduate School, including a double-degree program with KTH Royal Institute of Technology, before pursuing her PhD within the group.

Anita Mouttou

Research Engineer

Anita Mouttou is a research engineer at CLARITY specializing in the design and integration of advanced interferometric imaging systems. She is responsible for the development of a line spectral-domain OCT platform dedicated to ultra-sensitive measurements of retinal dynamics. Her work focuses on optimizing interferometric sensitivity, system stability, and high-speed acquisition to detect subtle structural and functional variations in the living retina.

She graduated from Institut d’Optique Graduate School and completed her PhD developing resonant dielectric multilayer architectures for sensitivity enhancement in TIRF microscopy, enabling high-precision single-molecule imaging in living cells.

Oliver Martinache

PhD Student

Olivier is a PhD candidate working on structural and functional retinal imaging using interferometric modalities. His research explores retinal dynamics through digital holography and time-domain full-field OCT, with a focus on quantifying optoretinographic responses, cellular motion, and retinal blood flow. Within the group, he leads the experimental implementation of optoretinography in the TD-FFOCT platform, including amplitude-based ORG strategies, spectral shaping, and system optimization for in vivo measurements.
He graduated from Institut d’Optique Graduate School before joining the group for his doctoral research.

Elise Couturier

Master 2 student

Elise is a Master’s student intern. She is currently pursuing an optical engineering diploma at Institut d’Optique Graduate School, specializing in Biomedical Engineering, and has completed part of her training in Madrid.
She works on spatial coherence engineering strategies aimed at enhancing resolution and sensitivity in full-field interferometric imaging.

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