Low-cost and highly flexible intraoperative endomicroscopy system for cellular imaging

Optical biopsy, such as probe-based endomicroscopy, represents a promising technique that can provide useful intraoperative assessment of cellular imaging instead of conventional physical biopsy and histology. Despite the merits of endomicroscopy, however, it is limited by the high cost of the optical system, difficulties in a flexible approach by a commercial probe, large-area surveillance, and tissue deformation. In this paper, we have developed a low-cost endomicroscopy system with a highly flexible fiber bundle coupled with a distal microlens, mosaicking algorithm, and robotic scanning device for obtaining large-area in vivo cellular imaging to extend the clinical application of endomicroscopy. We have demonstrated that this system can obtain good quality images from ex vivo human stomach tissue. We have also shown the potential of the system to provide a much larger field of view for optical biopsy than conventional endomicroscopy. This could greatly improve the prospects for intraoperative in vivo and in situ evaluation of cellular imaging.