Sub-micrometer axial resolution OCT for imaging of the cellular structure of healthy and keratoconic human corneas.

Corneal degenerative conditions such as keratoconus (KC) cause progressive damage to the anterior corneal tissue and eventually severely compromise visual acuity. The ability to visualize corneal tissue damage at cellular or sub-cellular level at different stages of development of KC and other corneal diseases, can aid the early diagnostics as well as the development of more effective treatment approaches for various corneal pathologies, including keratoconus. Here, we present the optical design of an optical coherence tomography system that can achieve 0.