Development of a fast scanning miniature probe and methods of dispersion management for high-resolution optical...

We present a design of a miniature fiber-optic probe capable of rapid lateral scanning. The miniature probe permits forward-looking optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging of internal organs in real time. Fast lateral scanning also enables a new real-time image acquisition sequence, potentially permitting real-time focus tracking. To perform sensitive heterodyne detection, a sufficient Doppler frequency is achieved by using an electro-optic (EO) phase modulator. In this paper we describe an effective approach to compensate the dispersion induced by the EO crystal up to the third order. We show that an optimal axial resolution offered by the light source can be recovered through the dispersion management. Preliminary results of real-time OCT imaging of biological tissues with the lateral-priority scanning probe are presented.