This work quantifies and suggests that there is utility in multipath artifacts found in double-clad fiber based OCT systems. While these artifacts appear as a smear in the A-line direction, they can be projected into a high-quality (and unique) en face image when compared to the fundamental mode image.

The angular dependence of the fundamental image and higher order image generated by the multipath artifact lays the basis for multipath contrast, a ratiometric measurement of differential coupling which provides information regarding the angular diversity of a sample. ultipath contrast images can be generated from OCT data where multipath artifacts are present, meaning that a wealth of clinical data can be retrospectively examined.