Endoscope, Imaging, Interferometer
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
An Imaging Endoscope has been designed and developed for the interiors of arteries and gastrointestinal tracts with images up to 10 µm. The Endoscope is based on a Fiber Optic Interferometer using a 30fs pulse laser with 30 mW average power level at 1280 nm. This wavelength can penetrate up to 3 mm of tissue.
The end of a single mode optical fiber is cemented to a GRIN lens. The GRIN lens is cemented to a prism, which acts as a turning, folding mirror. The prism directs the light beam perpendicular to the Fiber Optic and out the side of the Endoscope. The Fiber Optic, lens, and prism all rotate together, allowing the device to direct light beam in a plane around the end of the Fiber Optic. Light reflected from tissue enters the folding prism. The light beam is collected by the GRIN lens, and then passes up the Fiber Optic. The Endoscope can provide 2000 axial scans/sec, allowing a 360° cross section in 250 ms.
The Endoscope end is about 1mm diameter and can be inserted into openings with a minimum diameter of 5mm. The Endoscope resolution of 10 µm is about 10 times that of magnetic resonance or high frequency ultrasound imaging.
Source: Laser Focus World, September 1997;by James Fujimoto, MIT, Cambridge, MA and Mark Brezinski, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Reference: None Available
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posted by JD52 @ 9:45 PM,
