A novel correction method and tissue simulation approach for system polarization mode dispersion in polarization-sensitive OCT

Polarization Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography (PS-OCT) provides tissue specific contrast by assessing tissue birefringence and optic axis (OA) orientation. Fiber-based PS-OCT systems suffer from polarization mode dispersion (PMD) due to birefringence induced by the optical fibers. We present a novel numerical method for correcting for PMD. By combining Jones eigenvector analysis with rotational Stokes analysis we construct a wavelength dependent correction matrix. We validate this novel method by simulating PS-OCT measurements. The newly found correction method is able to remove wavelength dependent effects and corect for an overall remaining OA rotation out of the Q-U plane.