Miniature swept source for point of care Optical Frequency Domain Imaging

Brian D Goldberg,S M R Motaghian Nezam,Brett E Bouma,Guillermo J Tearney,Priyanka Jillella

doi:10.1364/oe.17.003619

Brian D Goldberg, S M R Motaghian Nezam + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.17.003619

Copy DOI

Abstract

Point of care (POC) medical technologies require portable, small, robust instrumentation for practical implementation. In their current embodiment, optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI) systems employ large form-factor wavelength-swept lasers, making them impractical in the POC environment. Here, we describe a first step toward a POC OFDI system by demonstrating a miniaturized swept-wavelength source. The laser is based on a tunable optical filter using a reflection grating and a miniature resonant scanning mirror. The laser achieves 75 nm of bandwidth centered at 1340 nm, a 0.24 nm instantaneous line width, a 15.3 kHz repetition rate with 12 mW peak output power, and a 30.4 kHz A-line rate when utilizing forward and backward sweeps. The entire laser system is approximately the size of a deck of cards and can operate on battery power for at least one hour.

Highlights

Point-of-care (POC) technologies aim to bring advances in medical technology directly to the patient
The transition from forward to backward sweep direction occurred within the gain bandwidth of the single angle facet (SAF), resulting in continuous lasing during this transition
The plateau and dip may be a mismatch between the linear sampling of the detection electronics and the non-linear motion of the resonant scanner

Summary

Introduction

Point-of-care (POC) technologies aim to bring advances in medical technology directly to the patient. POC testing, imaging and diagnostics are becoming more and more common within many medical settings including primary, home, and emergency care[1]. Imaging technologies have the potential to play a key role within the field of new POC technologies, allowing the physician to see deeper, with higher resolution, and with greater contrast than with the naked eye. At the point of care, imaging can provide crucial diagnostic information[2], guide procedures[3, 4], and identify tumor margins during surgery [5]. New imaging technologies are performing comprehensive screening in ways that may eliminate the need for biopsies altogether[6,7,8]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion