Optical Coherence Microscope Instrumentation Control and 3D Visualization

Traditional methods of microscopic imaging damages the specimen to prepare the sample
for imaging. These methods of microscopic imaging also only create 2D images of a specific
layer of the specimen. This project aims to address these problems by creating an imaging device
that captures digital images at the microscopic level without harming the organism that is being
imaged. While there are other forms of imaging that does not harm the specimen like MRI, CT,
ultrasound, and x-ray, they are not designed for microscopic imaging. Optical coherence
microscopes can capture images of a specimen at different depths without the need to slice or
smear a specimen. Professor Takashi Buma built an optical coherence microscope but did not
implement software to control the microscope and capture and process images from the
microscope. The goal of this project was to create the instrumentation control for the optical
coherence microscope so that it can capture images of an object at various depths and create a
3D visualization of the object or parts of the object.