Abstract
Using a single optical fiber and miniature distal optics, spectrally-encoded endoscopy (SEE) has been demonstrated as a promising, three-dimensional endoscopic imaging method with a large number of resolvable points and high frame rates. We present a detailed theoretical study of the SEE prototype system and probe. Several key imaging parameters of SEE are thoroughly derived and formulated, including the three-dimensional point-spread function and field of view, as well as the system's optical aberrations and fundamental limits. We find that the point-spread function of the SEE system maintains a unique relation between its transverse and axial shapes, discuss the asymmetry of the volumetric field of view, determine that the number of lateral resolvable points is nearly twice than what was previously accepted, and derive an expression for the upper limit for the total number of resolvable points in the cross-sectional image plane.
Highlights
Endoscopes are widely used in modern medical practice, making clinical procedures less invasive and saving time and cost, while providing physicians with valuable information from within the body
Maintaining acceptable image quality with small diameter fiber bundles is challenging, ; each optical fiber has a finite size, and only a limited number of fibers can be packed into an endoscope with a given diameter
We first outline and formulate the interferometric spectrallyencoded endoscopy (SEE) working principles, derive the system‟s point-spread function (PSF) and its three-dimensional field of view using diffraction theory, and study the effect of the various optical aberrations that are present in the system
Summary
Endoscopes are widely used in modern medical practice, making clinical procedures less invasive and saving time and cost, while providing physicians with valuable information from within the body. Maintaining acceptable image quality with small diameter fiber bundles is challenging, ; each optical fiber has a finite size, and only a limited number of fibers can be packed into an endoscope with a given diameter. While high quality images have been obtained using this technique, the size of the scanning mechanisms make rapid distal scanning difficult to implement in the smallest endoscopic probes. SEE uses a diffraction grating and a miniature lens to generate a spectrally resolved line on the sample, which can be slowly scanned in one dimension to obtain a two-dimensional image with a large number of resolvable points. Several methods for obtaining three-dimensional imaging in SEE have been proposed, using time [7] and spectral [8,9] domain interferometric techniques. We first outline and formulate the interferometric SEE working principles, derive the system‟s point-spread function (PSF) and its three-dimensional field of view using diffraction theory, and study the effect of the various optical aberrations that are present in the system
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