3D endoscopic optical coherence tomography based on rapid-scanning MEMS mirrors

The paper reports 3D in vivo endoscopic imaging enabled by integrating rapid-scanning MEMS mirrors into an optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging probe. OCT provides high-resolution cross-sectional information suitable for in vivo noninvasive early cancer diagnosis. However, conventional OCT systems are bulky and slow, and thus are difficult to apply to internal organs where most cancers are originated. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology offers the advantages of small size and fast speed and can be used to miniaturize optical imaging probes. The MEMS mirrors have large aperture size (1 mm × 1 mm), large scan range (≫ ±25°) and low drive voltage (≪ 10 V). A 5.8mm-diameter FEB-protected MEMS-OCT has been built and 3D OCT images of live mice have been successfully acquired with a resolution of ∼10µm and a frame rate of 2.5 frames per second.