Design of a handheld optical coherence microscopy endoscope

J Biomed Opt. 2011 Jun;16(6):066018. doi: 10.1117/1.3594149.

Abstract

Optical coherence microscopy (OCM) combines coherence gating, high numerical aperture optics, and a fiber-core pinhole to provide high axial and lateral resolution with relatively large depth of imaging. We present a handheld rigid OCM endoscope designed for small animal surgical imaging, with a 6-mm diam tip, 1-mm scan width, and 1-mm imaging depth. X-Y scanning is performed distally with mirrors mounted to micro galvonometer scanners incorporated into the endoscope handle. The endoscope optical design consists of scanning doublets, an afocal Hopkins relay lens system, a 0.4 numerical aperture water immersion objective, and a cover glass. This endoscope can resolve laterally a 1.4-μm line pair feature and has an axial resolution (full width half maximum) of 5.4 μm. Images taken with this endoscope of fresh ex-vivo mouse ovaries show structural features, such as corpus luteum, primary follicles, growing follicles, and fallopian tubes. This rigid handheld OCM endoscope can be useful for a variety of minimally invasive and surgical imaging applications.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Endoscopes*
  • Endoscopy / instrumentation*
  • Equipment Design
  • Female
  • Histological Techniques
  • Mice
  • Ovary / anatomy & histology
  • Ovary / cytology
  • Tomography, Optical Coherence / instrumentation*