PhD9: Marie Klufts

Host: University of Lübeck 

Secondments: Optores GmbH, University of Kent, Applied Optics Group (AOG)/with guidance from UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital

PhD Project: Short wavelength FDML lasers

More than 60% of OCT applications are in imaging the retina of the human eye, 800–1100 nm represents the main wavelength range. There is still no commercially available swept source at 800 nm operating at over tens of kHz tuning rates. The project aims to develop a new fast 800 nm FDML at >1MHz wavelength sweep repetition rate with a tuning bandwidth of more than 60 nm and a long coherence length. This will allow swept source OCT system with the typical image contrast and look known from 800nm SD-OCT and provide improved transversal resolution. This laser will be used in a OCT system for biomedical imaging.

Previous education: After my preparatory class specialized in mechanics and physics, I continued my studies in biomedical engineering in France. During these 5 years, I had the opportunity to do several internship focusing on photonics. The first one at Femto-st allowed me to discover OCT. Then I had the opportunity to work with MD. Nicolas MOTTET in the study of fetal lung development by elastography. Lastly, I did a 3 month internship at the University of Auckland with Dr. Frédérique VANHOLSBEECK and Matthew GOODWIN on the early detection of osteoarthritis by PS-OCT.