Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The General Hospital Corporation

Stephen A Boppart

James G Fujimoto

Eric Arthur Swanson

Mark Brezinski

Brett Eugene Bouma

Guillermo J Tearney

Edward I McNamara

Gary J Tearney

Constantinos Pitris

Xingde Li

A fiber optic needle probe for measuring or imaging the internal structure of a specimen includes a needle defining a bore, an optical fiber substantially positioned within the bore, and a beam director in optical communication with the optical fiber. At least a portion of the wall of the needle is capable of transmitting light. The beam director directs light from the optical fiber to an internal structure being imaged and receives light from the structure through a transparent portion of the wall. An actuating device causes motion of any, or all of, the needle, optical fiber, and beam director to scan the internal structure of the specimen. The fiber optic needle probe allows imaging inside a solid tissue or organ without intraluminal insertion. When used in conjunction with an OCT imaging system, the fiber optic needle probe enables tomographic imaging of the microstructure of internal organs and tissues which were previously impossible to image in a living subject.

Fiber optic needle probes for optical coherence tomography imaging

An imaging system for performing optical coherence tomography includes an optical radiation source; a reference optical reflector; a first optical path leading to the reference optical reflector; and a second optical path coupled to an endoscopic unit. The endoscopic unit preferably includes an elongated housing defining a bore; a rotatable single mode optical fiber having a proximal end and a distal end positioned within and extending the length of the bore of the elongated housing; and an optical system coupled to the distal end of the rotatable single mode optical fiber, positioned to transmit the optical radiation from the single mode optical fiber to the structure and to transmit reflected optical radiation from the structure to the single mode optical fiber. The system further includes a beam divider dividing the optical radiation from the optical radiation source along the first optical path to the reflector and along the second optical path; and a detector positioned to receive reflected optical radiation from the reflector transmitted along the first optical path and reflected optical radiation transmitted from the structure along the second optical path. The detector generates a signal in response to the reflected optical radiation from the reference reflector and the reflected optical radiation from the structure, and a processor generating a image of the structure in response to the signal from the detector. The system provides both rotational and longitudinal scanning of an image.

Fiber optic imaging endoscope interferometer with at least one faraday rotator

An imaging system for performing forward scanning imaging for application to therapeutic and diagnostic devises used in medical procedures. The imaging system includes forward directed optical coherence tomography (OCT), and non-retroreflected forward scanning OCT. Also interferometric imaging and ranging techniques and fluorescent, Raman, two-photon, and diffuse wave imaging can be used. The forward scanning mechanisms include a cam attached to a motor, pneumatic devices, a pivoting device, piezoelectric transducers, electrostatic driven slides for substantially transverse scanning; counter-rotating prisms, and offset lenses are used for arbitrary scanning. The imaging system of the invention is applied to hand held probes including probes integrated with surgical probes, scalpels, scissors, forceps and biopsy instruments. Hand held probes include forward scanning lasers. The imaging system is also applicable to laparoscopes and endoscopes for diagnostc and therapeutic intervention in body orifices, canals, tubes, ducts, vessels and cavities of the body. The imaging system includes application to surgical and high numerical aperture microscopes. An important application of the invention is implantation of the optical probe for periodic or continuous extraction of information from the tissue site where implanted.

Methods and apparatus for forward-directed optical scanning instruments

Method and apparatus for performing optical measurements using a fiber

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Boston, MA, United States of America

Stephen A Boppart