Techniques for collecting and processing complex OCT data to detect localized motion contrast information with enhanced accuracy and sensitivity are presented. In a preferred embodiment, vector differences between complex OCT signals taken at the same location on the sample are used to detect blood flow in the retina. Additional embodiments involving non-linear intensity weighting of the motion contrast information, normalization of the vector difference amplitudes, and calculating the absolute value of the standard deviation of Doppler signal are described. Image processing techniques to enhance the images resulting from these motion contrast techniques are also presented.
