Power-efficient nonreciprocal interferometer and linear-scanning fiber-optic catheter for optical coherence...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Optical Engineering
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a valuable imaging modality.
• Standard OCT systems face limitations in power efficiency and catheter design.
• Clinical applications of OCT in the gastrointestinal tract are desirable.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a nonreciprocal fiber-optic interferometer for OCT systems.
• To introduce a novel linear-scanning fiber-optic catheter for OCT.
• To enable clinical implementation of OCT in the human gastrointestinal tract.

Main Methods:

• Development and integration of a nonreciprocal fiber-optic interferometer into an OCT system.
• Design and testing of a linear-scanning fiber-optic catheter, avoiding rotary optical junctions.
• Clinical application of the developed OCT system for gastrointestinal imaging.

Main Results:

• The nonreciprocal interferometer provides a 4.1-dB power efficiency advantage over standard Michelson OCT.
• The linear-scanning catheter successfully avoids the need for a rotary optical junction.
• Successful clinical implementation of OCT imaging in the human gastrointestinal tract was achieved.

Conclusions:

• The demonstrated nonreciprocal fiber-optic interferometer significantly improves OCT power efficiency.
• The new linear-scanning catheter design simplifies OCT system architecture for endoscopic applications.
• These advancements facilitate the clinical use of OCT for gastrointestinal diagnostics.