HIGH RESOLUTION CIRCULAR SCANNING ENDOSCOPIC OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an emerging technology for micron-scale cross-sectional imaging of biological tissue and materials. OCT is analogous to ultrasound imaging except that it uses low coherence light instead of sound waves. In this paper a combination of OCT and endoscope technique. namely endoscopic OCT, is demonstrated tor high resolution Circular scanning OCT imaging showing high potential in the application of clinical diagnosis from GI tract, respiratory system to urinary and reproductive tract. as well as vascular and neural system. We demonstrate the design and fabrication of a miniature circular scanning probe for endoscopic OCT. A hollow ultrasonic motor is for the first time employed for driving the rotation of optics and also allowing the light delivery fiber. objective lens and motor along the same side, shortening (he distal end of the probe and also enhancing the lateral imaging resolution. As the diameter of the motor is only 1 mm, a catheter of 1.8mm in diameter is constructed. We demonstrate preliminary result of OCT imaging with this probe. Imaging studies using this system and further improvement are in progress.