Enhanced visualization of ex-vivo ocular tissues using spatial-phase-resolved optical coherence microscopy

The use of high numerical aperture (NA) objective lenses in optical coherence microscopy (OCM), while offering high lateral resolution, inherently limits the depth of focus (DOF) within the sample. While computational methods can extend the DOF, they typically require high spatial-phase stability, which limits their applicability to point-scanning OCM systems due to phase distortions from mechanical scanning. Although phase stabilization is possible through post-processing, it is often complex and computationally intensive. In this study, we present a novel approach to address the limited DOF in OCM by combining the inherent phase stability in self-reference interferometry with a phase-sensitive computational refocusing algorithm.