Handheld optical coherence tomography scanner using a common-path probing arm with long working distance

Abstract

In this study, a bending insensitive handheld optical coherence tomography (OCT) scanner is developed by means of common-path interferometric technique. The OCT source light is sent into a fiber based Michelson interferometer firstly and split into two portions. Light output from the Michelson interferometer, which consisting of two light components with different optical delay, is then guided into a common-path OCT probing arm with the extended working distance. The distal end of the probing fiber is polished with a small angle to serve as the reference plane of the OCT system. Theoretical analysis is carried out to derive the expression of the interference signal for the proposed imaging method, which agrees with experimental results. Measured OCT sensitivity is 100.9 dB at the sampling power of 580 μW. The performance of the OCT scanner is demonstrated through imaging biological samples.