Miniaturized single-fiber-based needle probe for combined imaging and sensing in deep tissue

Abstract

The ability to visualize structure while simultaneously measuring chemical or physical properties of a biological tissue has the potential to improve our understanding of complex biological processes. We report the first miniaturized single-fiber-based imaging+sensing probe capable of simultaneous optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging and temperature sensing. An OCT lens is fabricated at the distal end of a double-clad fiber, including a thin layer of rare-earth-doped tellurite glass to enable temperature measurements. The high refractive index of the tellurite glass enables a common-path interferometer configuration for OCT, allowing easy exchange of probes for biomedical applications. The simultaneous imaging+sensing capability is demonstrated on rat brains.

Improved method for optical fiber temperature probe implantation in brains of free-moving rats

“…We have developed a new probe that utilizes an implant procedure identical to that of conventional microdialysis techniques, complete with a fully portable optical setup (Musolino et al, 2016) to accommodate an ease of transition from conventional techniques to the advantageous optical fiber sensing. These fiber sensors also have the potential for multiplexing with other sensors to measure other chemical properties, or for simultaneous imaging and sensing to be done using the same fiber (Li et al, 2018).…”

Protein detection enabled using functionalised silk-binding peptides on a silk-coated optical fibre

“…5 One solution is to use an optical bre to deliver excitation light, and collect the subsequent uorescence emission from the location of the uorophore. [6][7][8][9][10] Furthermore, an optical bre-based probe can be prepared by coating the bre tip in a matrix, such as a polymer or electrolyte layer, within which a uorescent sensor molecule is embedded. [11][12][13] Production of such an optical bre probe provides advantages of small device size, 14 precise spatio-temporal control of the bre tip, 10 and delivery of light in difficult to reach locations, 15 such as those required for in vivo studies.…”

“…[6][7][8][9][10] Furthermore, an optical bre-based probe can be prepared by coating the bre tip in a matrix, such as a polymer or electrolyte layer, within which a uorescent sensor molecule is embedded. [11][12][13] Production of such an optical bre probe provides advantages of small device size, 14 precise spatio-temporal control of the bre tip, 10 and delivery of light in difficult to reach locations, 15 such as those required for in vivo studies. 16,17 Optical bre probes have been developed for a number of applications, including the detection of biological analytes such as metal ions, [18][19][20][21] small biomolecules, 22,23 and pH measurement.…”

Theranostic OCT microneedle for fast ultrahigh-resolution deep-brain imaging and efficient laser ablation in vivo

“…Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an appealing technology for real-time 3D visualization of tissue microanatomy in vivo with an imaging depth of 1 to 3 mm (13)(14)(15). To go beyond the depth limitation, an OCT needle was proposed and demonstrated to enable interstitial imaging of solid tissues/organs (11,(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21). For example, OCT needle was used to image fresh lung tissues, and its diagnostic potential was demonstrated for detecting prostate cancer with ex vivo human tissues (22)(23)(24)(25).…”