Large area confocal microscopy

Polarization state tomography technique based on coherent synthesis of polarization state and orthogonal polarization state separation method for comprehensive optical imaging

Comprehensive optical imaging of the intensity, phase, and birefringent information of the biological sample is important because important physical or pathological changes always accompany the changes in multiple optical parameters. Current studies lack such a metric that can present the comprehensive optical property of the sample in one figure. In this paper, a polarization state synthesis tomography (PoST) method, which is based on the principle of polarization state coherent synthesis and demodulation, is proposed to achieve full-field tomographic imaging of the comprehensive information (i.e., intensity, phase, and birefringence) of the biological sample. In this method, the synthesis of the polarization state is achieved by the time-domain full-field low coherence interferometer, where the polarization states of the sample beam and the reference beam are set to be orthogonal for the synthesis of the polarization state. The synthesis of the polarization state enables two functions of the PoST system: (1) Depth information of the sample can be encoded by the synthesized polarization state because only when the optical path length difference between the two arms is within the coherence length, a new polarization state can be synthesized; (2) Since the scattering coefficient, refractive index and the birefringent property of the sample can modulate the intensity and phase of the sample beam, the synthesized polarization state is sensitive to all these three parameters and can provide the comprehensive optical information of the sample. In this work, the depth-resolved ability and the comprehensive optical imaging metric have been demonstrated by the standard samples and the onion cells, demonstrating the potential application value of this method for further investigation of the important physical or pathological process of the biological tissues.

A miniaturized, tethered, spectrally-encoded confocal endomicroscopy capsule

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The tethered spectrally-encoded confocal endomicroscopy (SECM) capsule is an imaging device that once swallowed by an unsedated patient can visualize cellular morphologic changes associated with gastrointestinal (GI) tract diseases in vivo. Recently, we demonstrated a tethered SECM capsule for counting esophageal eosinophils in patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) in vivo. Yet, the current tethered SECM capsule is far too long to be widely utilized for imaging pediatric patients, who constitute a major portion of the EoE patient population. In this paper, we present a new tethered SECM capsule that is 33% shorter, has an easier and repeatable fabrication process, and produces images with reduced speckle noise.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The smaller SECM capsule utilized a miniature condenser to increase the fiber numerical aperture and reduce the capsule length. A custom 3D-printed holder was developed to enable easy and repeatable device fabrication. A dual-clad fiber (DCF) was used to reduce speckle noise.

RESULTS

The fabricated SECM capsule (length = 20 mm; diameter = 7 mm) had a similar size and shape to a pediatric dietary supplement pill. The new capsule achieved optical sectioning thickness of 13.2 μm with a small performance variation between devices of 1.7 μm. Confocal images of human esophagus obtained in vivo showed the capability of this new device to clearly resolve microstructural epithelial details with reduced speckle noise.

CONCLUSIONS

We expect that the smaller size and better image performance of this new SECM capsule will greatly facilitate the clinical adoption of this technology in pediatric patients and will enable more accurate assessment of EoE-suspected tissues. Lasers Surg. Med. 51:452-458, 2019. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Tri-modal microscope for head and neck tissue identification

A novel tri-modal microscope combining optical coherence tomography (OCT), spectrally encoded confocal microscopy (SECM) and fluorescence imaging is presented. This system aims at providing a tool for rapid identification of head and neck tissues during thyroid surgery. The development of a dual-wavelength polygon-based swept laser allows for synchronized, co-registered and simultaneous imaging with all three modalities. Further ameliorations towards miniaturization include a custom lens for optimal compromise between orthogonal imaging geometries as well as a double-clad fiber coupler for increased throughput. Image quality and co-registration is demonstrated on freshly excised swine head and neck tissue samples to illustrate the complementarity of the techniques for identifying signature cellular and structural features.

Reflectance confocal microscopy of red blood cells: simulation and experiment

Measuring the morphology of red blood cells is important for clinical diagnosis, providing valuable indications on a patient's health. In this work, we have simulated the appearance of normal red blood cells under a reflectance confocal microscope and discovered unique relations between the morphological parameters and the resulting characteristic interference patterns of the cell. The simulation results showed good agreement with in vitro reflectance confocal images of red blood cells, acquired using spectrally encoded flow cytometry that imaged the cells in a linear flow without artificial staining. By matching the simulated patterns to confocal images of the cells, this method could be used for measuring cell morphology in three dimensions and for studying their physiology.

Spectrally encoded slit confocal microscopy using a wavelength-swept laser

We present an implementation of spectrally encoded slit confocal microscopy. The method employs a rapid wavelength-swept laser as the light source and illuminates a specimen with a line focus that scans through the specimen as the wavelength sweeps. The reflected light from the specimen is imaged with a stationary line scan camera, in which the finite pixel height serves as a slit aperture. This scanner-free operation enables a simple and cost-effective implementation in a small form factor, while allowing for the three-dimensional imaging of biological samples.

Miniature objective lens with variable focus for confocal endomicroscopy

Spectrally encoded confocal microscopy (SECM) is a reflectance confocal microscopy technology that can rapidly image large areas of luminal organs at microscopic resolution. One of the main challenges for large-area SECM imaging in vivo is maintaining the same imaging depth within the tissue when patient motion and tissue surface irregularity are present. In this paper, we report the development of a miniature vari-focal objective lens that can be used in an SECM endoscopic probe to conduct adaptive focusing and to maintain the same imaging depth during in vivo imaging. The vari-focal objective lens is composed of an aspheric singlet with an NA of 0.5, a miniature water chamber, and a thin elastic membrane. The water volume within the chamber was changed to control curvature of the elastic membrane, which subsequently altered the position of the SECM focus. The vari-focal objective lens has a diameter of 5 mm and thickness of 4 mm. A vari-focal range of 240 μm was achieved while maintaining lateral resolution better than 2.6 μm and axial resolution better than 26 μm. Volumetric SECM images of swine esophageal tissues were obtained over the vari-focal range of 260 μm. SECM images clearly visualized cellular features of the swine esophagus at all focal depths, including basal cell nuclei, papillae, and lamina propria.

Confocal microlaparoscope for imaging the fallopian tube

Recent evidence suggests that ovarian cancer can originate in the fallopian tube. Unlike many other cancers, poor access to the ovary and fallopian tubes has limited the ability to study the progression of this deadly disease and to diagnosis it during the early stage when it is most amenable to therapy. A rigid confocal microlaparoscope system designed to image the epithelial surface of the ovary in vivo was previously reported. A new confocal microlaparoscope with an articulating distal tip has been developed to enable in vivo access to human fallopian tubes. The new microlaparoscope is compatible with 5-mm trocars and includes a 2.2-mm-diameter articulating distal tip consisting of a bare fiber bundle and an automated dye delivery system for fluorescence confocal imaging. This small articulating device should enable the confocal microlaparoscope to image early stage ovarian cancer arising inside the fallopian tube. Ex vivo images of animal tissue and human fallopian tube using the new articulating device are presented along with in vivo imaging results using the rigid confocal microlaparoscope system.

Miniature forward-viewing spectrally encoded endoscopic probe

Spectrally encoded endoscopy is a promising technique for minimally invasive imaging, allowing high-quality imaging through small diameter probes that do not require rapid mechanical scanning. A novel optical configuration that employs broadband visible light and dual-channel imaging is used to demonstrate a miniature forward-viewing probe having a high number of resolvable points, low speckle contrast, negligible backreflections, and high signal-to-noise ratio. The system would be most suitable for imaging through narrow ducts and vessels for clinical diagnosis at hard-to-reach locations in the body.

Advances in imaging probes and optical microendoscopic imaging techniques for early in vivo cancer assessment

A new chapter in the history of medical diagnosis happened when the first X-ray technology was invented in the late 1800s. Since then, many non-invasive and minimally invasive imaging techniques have been invented for clinical diagnosis to research in cellular biology, drug discovery, and disease monitoring. These imaging modalities have leveraged the benefits of significant advances in computer, electronics, and information technology and, more recently, targeted molecular imaging. The development of targeted contrast agents such as fluorescent and nanoparticle probes coupled with optical imaging techniques has made it possible to selectively view specific biological events and processes in both in vivo and ex vivo systems with great sensitivity and selectivity. Thus, the combination of targeted molecular imaging probes and optical imaging techniques have become a mainstay in modern medicinal and biological research. Many promising results have demonstrated great potentials to translate to clinical applications. In this review, we describe a discussion of employing imaging probes and optical microendoscopic imaging techniques for cancer diagnosis.

Spectrally encoded confocal microscopy of esophageal tissues at 100 kHz line rate

Spectrally encoded confocal microscopy (SECM) is a reflectance confocal microscopy technology that uses a diffraction grating to illuminate different locations on the sample with distinct wavelengths. SECM can obtain line images without any beam scanning devices, which opens up the possibility of high-speed imaging with relatively simple probe optics. This feature makes SECM a promising technology for rapid endoscopic imaging of internal organs, such as the esophagus, at microscopic resolution. SECM imaging of the esophagus has been previously demonstrated at relatively low line rates (5 kHz). In this paper, we demonstrate SECM imaging of large regions of esophageal tissues at a high line imaging rate of 100 kHz. The SECM system comprises a wavelength-swept source with a fast sweep rate (100 kHz), high output power (80 mW), and a detector unit with a large bandwidth (100 MHz). The sensitivity of the 100-kHz SECM system was measured to be 60 dB and the transverse resolution was 1.6 µm. Excised swine and human esophageal tissues were imaged with the 100-kHz SECM system at a rate of 6.6 mm(2)/sec. Architectural and cellular features of esophageal tissues could be clearly visualized in the SECM images, including papillae, glands, and nuclei. These results demonstrate that large-area SECM imaging of esophageal tissues can be successfully conducted at a high line imaging rate of 100 kHz, which will enable whole-organ SECM imaging in vivo.

Endoscopic probe optics for spectrally encoded confocal microscopy

Spectrally encoded confocal microscopy (SECM) is a form of reflectance confocal microscopy that can achieve high imaging speeds using relatively simple probe optics. Previously, the feasibility of conducting large-area SECM imaging of the esophagus in bench top setups has been demonstrated. Challenges remain, however, in translating SECM into a clinically-useable device; the tissue imaging performance should be improved, and the probe size needs to be significantly reduced so that it can fit into luminal organs of interest. In this paper, we report the development of new SECM endoscopic probe optics that addresses these challenges. A custom water-immersion aspheric singlet (NA = 0.5) was developed and used as the objective lens. The water-immersion condition was used to reduce the spherical aberrations and specular reflection from the tissue surface, which enables cellular imaging of the tissue deep below the surface. A custom collimation lens and a small-size grating were used along with the custom aspheric singlet to reduce the probe size. A dual-clad fiber was used to provide both the single- and multi- mode detection modes. The SECM probe optics was made to be 5.85 mm in diameter and 30 mm in length, which is small enough for safe and comfortable endoscopic imaging of the gastrointestinal tract. The lateral resolution was 1.8 and 2.3 µm for the single- and multi- mode detection modes, respectively, and the axial resolution 11 and 17 µm. SECM images of the swine esophageal tissue demonstrated the capability of this device to enable the visualization of characteristic cellular structural features, including basal cell nuclei and papillae, down to the imaging depth of 260 µm. These results suggest that the new SECM endoscopic probe optics will be useful for imaging large areas of the esophagus at the cellular scale in vivo.

Development of a Novel Embedded Relay Lens Microscopic Hyperspectral Imaging System for Cancer Diagnosis: Use of the Mice with Oral Cancer to Be the Example

This paper develops a novel embedded relay lens microscopic hyperspectral imaging system (ERL-MHSI) with high spectral resolution (nominal spectral resolution of 2.8 nm) and spatial resolution (30 μm × 10 μm) for cancer diagnosis. The ERL-MHSI system has transmittance and fluorescence mode. The transmittance can provide the morphological information for pathological diagnosis, and the fluorescence of cells or tissue can provide the characteristic signature for identification of normal and abnormal. In this work, the development of the ERL-MHSI system is discussed and the capability of the system is demonstrated by diagnosing early stage oral cancer of twenty mice in vitro. The best sensitivity for identifying normal cells and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was 100%. The best specificity for identifying normal cells and SCC was 99%. The best sensitivity for identifying normal cells and dysplasia was 99%. The best specificity for identifying normal cells and dysplasia was 97%. This work also utilizes fractal dimension to analyze the morphological information and find the significant different values between normal and SCC.

Dual-channel spectrally encoded endoscopic probe

High quality imaging through sub-millimeter endoscopic probes provides clinicians with valuable diagnostics capabilities in hard to reach locations within the body. Spectrally encoded endoscopy (SEE) has been shown promising for such task; however, challenging probe fabrication and high speckle noise had prevented its testing in in vivo studies. Here we demonstrate a novel miniature SEE probe which incorporates some of the recent progress in spectrally encoded technology into a compact and robust endoscopic system. A high-quality miniature diffraction grating was fabricated using automated femtosecond laser cutting from a large bulk grating. Using one spectrally encoded channel for imaging and a separate channel for incoherent illumination, the new system has large depth of field, negligible back reflections and well controlled speckle noise which depends on the core diameter of the illumination fiber. Moreover, by using a larger imaging channel, higher groove density grating, shorter wavelength and broader spectrum, the new endoscopic system now allow significant improvements in almost all imaging parameter compared to previous systems, through an ultra-miniature endoscopic probe.

Noninvasive imaging of flowing blood cells using label-free spectrally encoded flow cytometry

Optical microscopy of blood cells in vivo provides a unique opportunity for clinicians and researchers to visualize the morphology and dynamics of circulating cells, but is usually limited by the imaging speed and by the need for exogenous labeling of the cells. Here we present a label-free approach for in vivo flow cytometry of blood using a compact imaging probe that could be adapted for bedside real-time imaging of patients in clinical settings, and demonstrate subcellular resolution imaging of red and white blood cells flowing in the oral mucosa of a human volunteer. By analyzing the large data sets obtained by the system, valuable blood parameters could be extracted and used for direct, reliable assessment of patient physiology.

Reflectance confocal microscopy for the diagnosis of eosinophilic esophagitis: a pilot study conducted on biopsy specimens

BACKGROUND

Diagnosis of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) currently requires endoscopic biopsy and histopathologic analysis of the biopsy specimens to count intraepithelial eosinophils. Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is an endomicroscopy technology that is capable of obtaining high-resolution, optically sectioned images of esophageal mucosa without the administration of exogenous contrast.

OBJECTIVE

In this study, we investigated the capability of a high-speed form of RCM, termed spectrally encoded confocal microscopy (SECM), to count intraepithelial esophageal eosinophils and characterize other microscopic findings of EoE.

DESIGN

A total of 43 biopsy samples from 35 pediatric patients and 8 biopsy samples from 8 adult patients undergoing EGD for EoE were imaged by SECM immediately after their removal and then processed for routine histopathology. Two SECM readers, trained on adult cases, prospectively counted intraepithelial eosinophils and detected the presence of abscess, degranulation, and basal cell hyperplasia on SECM images from the pediatric patients. A pathologist blinded to the SECM data analyzed the same from corresponding slides.

SETTING

The Gastrointestinal Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital.

RESULTS

Eosinophils by SECM demonstrated a higher reflectance than the surrounding cells and other inflammatory cells. There was good correlation between SECM and histology maximum eosinophil counts/high-power field (R = 0.76, P < .0001). Intra- and interobserver correlations for SECM counts were very good (R = 0.93 and R = 0.92, respectively; P < .0001). For the commonly used eosinophil count cutoff of 15 per high-power field, the sensitivity and specificity of SECM for EoE were 100%. The sensitivity and specificity for abscess, degranulation, and basal cell hyperplasia were 100% and 82%, 91% and 60%, and 94% and 80%, respectively. Intra- and interobserver agreements for these microscopic features of EoE were very good (κ = 0.9/0.9, 0.84/1.0, 0.91/0.81, respectively).

LIMITATION

Ex vivo study.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that RCM can be used to accurately count intraepithelial eosinophils and identify other microscopic abnormalities associated with EoE on freshly excised biopsy samples. These findings suggest that RCM may be developed into a tool for assessing eosinophilic infiltration in the esophagus in vivo.

Confocal endomicroscopy: instrumentation and medical applications

Advances in fiber optic technology and miniaturized optics and mechanics have propelled confocal endomicroscopy into the clinical realm. This high resolution, non-invasive imaging technology provides the ability to microscopically evaluate cellular and sub-cellular features in tissue in vivo by optical sectioning. Because many cancers originate in epithelial tissues accessible by endoscopes, confocal endomicroscopy has been explored to detect regions of possible neoplasia at an earlier stage by imaging morphological features in vivo that are significant in histopathologic evaluation. This technique allows real-time assessment of tissue which may improve diagnostic yield by guiding biopsy. Research and development continues to reduce the overall size of the imaging probe, increase the image acquisition speed, and improve resolution and field of view of confocal endomicroscopes. Technical advances will continue to enable application to less accessible organs and more complex systems in the body. Lateral and axial resolutions down to 0.5 and 3 μm, respectively, field of view as large as 800 × 450 μm, and objective lens and total probe outer diameters down to 0.35 and 1.25 mm, respectively, have been achieved. We provide a review of the historical developments of confocal imaging in vivo, the evolution of endomicroscope instrumentation, and the medical applications of confocal endomicroscopy.

Comprehensive volumetric confocal microscopy with adaptive focusing

Comprehensive microscopy of distal esophagus could greatly improve the screening and surveillance of esophageal diseases such as Barrett's esophagus by providing histomorphologic information over the entire region at risk. Spectrally encoded confocal microscopy (SECM) is a high-speed reflectance confocal microscopy technology that can be configured to image the entire distal esophagus by helically scanning the beam using optics within a balloon-centering probe. It is challenging to image the human esophagus in vivo with balloon-based SECM, however, because patient motion and anatomic tissue surface irregularities decenter the optics, making it difficult to keep the focus at a predetermined location within the tissue as the beam is scanned. In this paper, we present a SECM probe equipped with an adaptive focusing mechanism that can compensate for tissue surface irregularity and dynamic focal variation. A tilted arrangement of the objective lens is employed in the SECM probe to provide feedback signals to an adaptive focusing mechanism. The tilted configuration also allows the probe to obtain reflectance confocal data from multiple depth levels, enabling the acquisition of three-dimensional volumetric data during a single scan of the probe. A tissue phantom with a surface area of 12.6 cm(2) was imaged using the new SECM probe, and 8 large-area reflectance confocal microscopy images were acquired over the depth range of 56 μm in 20 minutes. Large-area SECM images of excised swine small intestine tissue were also acquired, enabling the visualization of villous architecture, epithelium, and lamina propria. The adaptive focusing mechanism was demonstrated to enable acquisition of in-focus images even when the probe was not centered and the tissue surface was irregular.

Co-registered spectrally encoded confocal microscopy and optical frequency domain imaging system

Spectrally encoded confocal microscopy and optical frequency domain imaging are two non-contact optical imaging technologies that provide images of tissue cellular and architectural morphology, which are both used for histopathological diagnosis. Although spectrally encoded confocal microscopy has better transverse resolution than optical frequency domain imaging, optical frequency domain imaging can penetrate deeper into tissues, which potentially enables the visualization of different morphologic features. We have developed a co-registered spectrally encoded confocal microscopy and optical frequency domain imaging system and have obtained preliminary images from human oesophageal biopsy samples to compare the capabilities of these imaging techniques for diagnosing oesophageal pathology.

Multiple-channel spectrally encoded imaging

Spectrally encoded endoscopy (SEE) uses miniature diffractive optics to encode space with wavelength, allowing video-rate three-dimensional imaging through sub-millimeter, flexible endoscopic probes. Here we present a new approach for SEE in which the illumination and the collection channels are separated in space, and spectral encoding is present only in the collection channel. Bench-top experiments using spatially incoherent white light illumination reveal significant improvement in image quality and considerable reduction of speckle noise compared to conventional techniques, and show that the new system is capable of high sensitivity fluorescence imaging of single cells. The presented new approach would allow improved functionality and usability of SEE.

Scanning fiber endoscopy with highly flexible, 1 mm catheterscopes for wide-field, full-color imaging

In modern endoscopy, wide field of view and full color are considered necessary for navigating inside the body, inspecting tissue for disease and guiding interventions such as biopsy or surgery. Current flexible endoscope technologies suffer from reduced resolution when device diameter shrinks. Endoscopic procedures today, using coherent fiber-bundle technology on the scale of 1 mm, are performed with such poor image quality that the clinician's vision meets the criteria for legal blindness. Here, we review a new and versatile scanning fiber-imaging technology and describe its implementation for ultrathin and flexible endoscopy. This scanning fiber endoscope (SFE) or catheterscope enables high-quality, laser-based, video imaging for ultrathin clinical applications, while also providing new options for in vivo biological research of subsurface tissue and high resolution fluorescence imaging.

Rapid spectrally encoded fluorescence imaging using a wavelength-swept source

We present rapid imaging of fluorescent samples using spectral encoding (SE). A near-IR wavelength-swept source in used to preserve the SE of the position, despite Stokes shifts. To validate this approach, we imaged fluorescent PbS quantum dot solutions at concentrations down to 0.5+/-0.1micromol/L. This simple configuration allowed acquisition rates of up to 9920 lines of 1024 pixels per second to create high-resolution images. This spectrally encoded setup could be easily miniaturized for endoscopy, thus combining high-resolution fluorescence with confocal reflectance imaging at unmatched acquisition speed.

Double-clad fiber coupler for endoscopy

We present a double-clad fiber coupler (DCFC) for use in endoscopy to reduce speckle contrast, increase signal collection and depth of field. The DCFC is made by fusing and tapering two all silica double-clad fiber (DCF) and allows achromatic transmission of >95% of core illumination (1265nm - 1325nm) as well as collection of >42% of inner cladding diffuse light. Its potential for endoscopy is demonstrated in a spectrally encoded imaging setup which shows speckle reduction by a factor 5, increased signal collection by a factor 9 and enhanced depth of field by 1.8 times. Separation by the DCFC of single- and multi-mode signals allows combining low-speckle reflectance images (25.5 fps) with interferometrically measured depth profiles (post-processed) for of small three-dimensional (3D) features through an all-fiber low loss instrument.

Two-photon microscopy by wavelength-swept pulses delivered through single-mode fiber

Nonlinear microscopy through flexible fiber-optic catheters has potential in clinical diagnostic applications. Here, we demonstrate a new approach based on wavelength-swept narrowband pulses that permits simple fiber-optic delivery without need of the dispersion management and allows nonmechanical beam scanning. Using 0.86 ps pulses rapidly tuned from 789 nm to 822 nm at a sweep rate of 200 Hz, we demonstrate two-photon fluorescence and second-harmonic generation imaging through a 5-m-long standard single-mode fiber.

Comprehensive imaging of gastroesophageal biopsy samples by spectrally encoded confocal microscopy

BACKGROUND

Spectrally encoded confocal microscopy (SECM) is a high-speed reflectance confocal microscopy technique that has the potential to be used for acquiring comprehensive images of the entire distal esophagus endoscopically with subcellular resolution.

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this study was to demonstrate large-area SECM in upper GI tissues and to determine whether the images contain microstructural information that is useful for pathologic diagnosis.

DESIGN

A feasibility study.

SETTING

Gastrointestinal Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital.

PATIENTS

Fifty biopsy samples from 36 patients undergoing routine EGD were imaged by SECM, in their entirety, immediately after their removal.

RESULTS

The microstructure seen in the SECM images was similar to that seen by histopathology. Gastric cardia mucosa was clearly differentiated from squamous mucosa. Gastric fundic/body type mucosa showed more tightly packed glands than gastric cardia mucosa. Fundic gland polyps showed cystically dilated glands lined with cuboidal epithelium. The presence of intraepithelial eosinophils was detected with the cells demonstrating a characteristic bilobed nucleus. Specialized intestinal metaplasia was identified by columnar epithelium and the presence of goblet cells. Barrett's esophagus (BE) with dysplasia was differentiated from specialized intestinal metaplasia by the loss of nuclear polarity and disorganized glandular architecture.

LIMITATIONS

Ex vivo, descriptive study.

CONCLUSIONS

Large-area SECM images of gastroesophageal biopsy samples enabled the visualization of both subcellular and architectural features of various upper GI mucosal types and were similar to the corresponding histopathologic slides. These results suggest that the development of an endoscopic SECM probe is merited.

Theoretical analysis of spectrally encoded endoscopy

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.

Assessment of acridine orange and SYTO 16 for in vivo imaging of the peritoneal tissues in mice

The effect of peritoneal injection of acridine orange and SYTO 16 in mice was investigated. Images of peritoneal tissues stained with these dyes and obtained through a confocal micro-endoscope are presented. Seventy-five Balb/c mice were split into five groups and given peritoneal injections of dye or saline. The proportions of negative outcomes in each group were compared using confidence intervals and the Fisher's exact statistical test. A statistically significant increase in adverse events due to dye injection was not observed. These data provide an initial investigation into the safety of acridine orange and SYTO 16 for in vivo imaging.

Preliminary evaluation of noninvasive microscopic imaging techniques for the study of vocal fold development

Understanding pediatric voice development and laryngeal pathology is predicated on a detailed knowledge of the microanatomy of the layered structure of the vocal fold. Our current knowledge of this microanatomy and its temporal evolution is limited by the lack of pediatric specimen availability. By providing the capability to image pediatric vocal folds in vivo, a noninvasive microscopy technique could greatly expand the existing database of pediatric laryngeal microanatomy and could furthermore make longitudinal studies possible. A variety of natural-contrast optical imaging technologies, including optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI), full-field optical coherence microscopy (FF-OCM), and spectrally encoded confocal microscopy (SECM) have been recently developed for noninvasive diagnosis in adult patients. In this paper, we demonstrate the potential of these three techniques for laryngeal investigation by obtaining images of excised porcine vocal fold samples. In our study, OFDI allowed visualization of the vocal fold architecture deep within the tissue, from the superficial mucosa to the vocalis muscle. The micron-level resolution of SECM allowed investigation of cells and extracellular matrix fibrils from the superficial mucosa to the intermediate layer of the lamina propria (LP) (350 microm penetration depth). The large field of view (up to 700 microm), penetration depth (up to 500 microm), and resolution (2x2x1microm [XxYxZ]) of FF-OCM enabled comprehensive three-dimensional evaluation of the layered structure of the LP. Our results suggest that these techniques provide important and complementary cellular and structural information, which may be useful for investigating pediatric vocal fold maturation in vivo.

Fiber-optic confocal microscope using a MEMS scanner and miniature objective lens

We designed and constructed a single-fiber-optic confocal microscope (SFCM) with a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) scanner and a miniature objective lens. Axial and lateral resolution values for the system were experimentally measured to be 9.55 mum and 0.83 mum respectively, in good agreement with theoretical predictions. Reflectance images were acquired at a rate of 8 frames per second, over a 140 mum x 70 mum field-of-view. In anticipation of future applications in oral cancer detection, we imaged ex vivo and in vivo human oral tissue with the SFCM, demonstrating the ability of the system to resolve cellular detail.