Inventor recalls eye imaging breakthrough

David Huang, an MIT and Harvard-trained clinician-scientist, recounts the invention of optical coherence tomography (OCT) — a noninvasive imaging technique now used in 40 million procedures annually. Developed in the early 1990s during his MD-PhD studies, OCT uses infrared light and interferometry to produce high-resolution 3D images of biological tissues like the retina and coronary arteries. Huang credits the breakthrough to interdisciplinary collaboration between engineers and medical professionals. He continues to advance OCT at Oregon Health and Science University, exploring applications like OCT angiography and optoretinography, and co-founded GoCheck Kids for pediatric eye screening.