Abstract
Spectrally encoded endoscopy (SEE) uses miniature diffractive optics to encode space with wavelength, allowing video-rate three-dimensional imaging through sub-millimeter, flexible endoscopic probes. Here we present a new approach for SEE in which the illumination and the collection channels are separated in space, and spectral encoding is present only in the collection channel. Bench-top experiments using spatially incoherent white light illumination reveal significant improvement in image quality and considerable reduction of speckle noise compared to conventional techniques, and show that the new system is capable of high sensitivity fluorescence imaging of single cells. The presented new approach would allow improved functionality and usability of SEE.
Highlights
Miniaturization of instrumentation for minimally invasive clinical intervention is a current trend in medicine, pressed forward by the constant advance in science and technology
Fiber bundle endoscopes [1,2,3,4] have made a considerable impact in clinical applications such as ductoscopy [5,6], embryoscopy [7], and angioscopy [8] which require imaging through small diameter probes
Spectrally encoded endoscopy (SEE) has been shown promising for high speed confocal microscopy [13,14,15] and for video-rate three dimensional endoscopic imaging through sub-millimeter, flexible probes [16,17,18]
Summary
Miniaturization of instrumentation for minimally invasive clinical intervention is a current trend in medicine, pressed forward by the constant advance in science and technology. Fiber bundle endoscopes [1,2,3,4] have made a considerable impact in clinical applications such as ductoscopy [5,6], embryoscopy [7], and angioscopy [8] which require imaging through small diameter probes. The use of spatially coherent illumination through a single mode fiber causes pronounced speckle noise, small depth of field, and poor signal collection efficiency which often requires the use of lasers, supercontinuum generation sources, or high power super-luminescent diode arrays. One possible solution for addressing these issues includes the use of a double-clad fiber [20] for spatially coherent sample illumination and incoherent signal collection. While double-clad SEE was demonstrated capable of speckle-free imaging with large depth of field, the endoscopic probe itself suffered from significant cross-talk between the illumination and the collection channels. Back reflections from the probe’s optics, which were efficiently collected by the large area and the high numerical aperture of the inner cladding, resulted with high image noise and required continuous background subtraction during image acquisition
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