Super-Resolution and Denoising of Corneal B-Scan OCT Imaging Using Diffusion Model Plug-and-Play Priors

TL;DR

This paper introduces a diffusion model-based plug-and-play framework for super-resolution and denoising of corneal OCT images, significantly improving image quality and anatomical detail for clinical use.

Contribution

It presents a novel Bayesian inverse problem formulation using diffusion models as priors for OCT image enhancement, demonstrating superior results over existing methods.

Findings

Achieves 4x spatial resolution enhancement

Outperforms bicubic and U-Net baselines in noise suppression

Provides state-of-the-art quantitative metrics in image quality

Abstract

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is pivotal in corneal imaging for both surgical planning and diagnosis. However, high-speed acquisitions often degrade spatial resolution and increase speckle noise, posing challenges for accurate interpretation. We propose an advanced super-resolution framework leveraging diffusion model plug-and-play (PnP) priors to achieve 4x spatial resolution enhancement alongside effective denoising of OCT Bscan images. Our approach formulates reconstruction as a principled Bayesian inverse problem, combining Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling with pretrained generative priors to enforce anatomical consistency. We comprehensively validate the framework using \emph{in vivo} fisheye corneal datasets, to assess robustness and scalability under diverse clinical settings. Comparative experiments against bicubic interpolation, conventional supervised U-Net baselines, and alternative diffusion priors demonstrate that our method consistently yields more precise anatomical structures, improved delineation of corneal layers, and superior noise suppression. Quantitative results show state-of-the-art performance in peak signal-to-noise ratio, structural similarity index, and perceptual metrics. This work highlights the potential of diffusion-driven plug-and-play reconstruction to deliver high-fidelity, high-resolution OCT imaging, supporting more reliable clinical assessments and enabling advanced image-guided interventions. Our findings suggest the approach can be extended to other biomedical imaging modalities requiring robust super-resolution and denoising.