A Handheld Fiber-Optic Probe to Enable Optical Coherence Tomography of Oral Soft Tissue

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

This study presents a highly miniaturized, handheld probe developed for rapid assessment of soft tissue using optical coherencetomography (OCT). OCT is a non-invasive optical technology capable of visualizing the sub-surface structural changes that occur in soft tissue disease such as oral lichen planus. However, usage of OCT in the oral cavity has been limited, as the requirements for high-quality optical scanning have often resulted in probes that are heavy, unwieldy and clinically impractical. In this paper, we present a novel probe that combines an all-fiber optical design with a light-weight magnetic scanning mechanism to provide easy access to the oral cavity. The resulting probe is approximately the size of a pen (10 mm × 140 mm) and weighs only 10 grams. To demonstrate the feasibility and high image quality achieved with the probe, imaging was performed on the buccal mucosa and alveolar mucosa during routine clinical assessment of six patients diagnosed with oral lichen planus. Results show the loss of normal tissue structure within the lesion, and contrast this with the clear delineation of tissue layers in adjacent inconspicuous regions. The results also demonstrate the ability of the probe to acquire a three-dimensional data volume by manually sweeping across the surface of the mucosa. The findings of this study show the feasibility of using a small, lightweight probe to identify pathological features in oral soft tissue.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2276-2282
Number of pages7
JournalIEEE transactions on biomedical engineering
Volume69
Issue number7
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 34995178
WOS 000812532300020
ORCID /0000-0002-8160-3000/work/142248336
ORCID /0000-0002-7267-7016/work/142249523
ORCID /0000-0003-2292-5533/work/142256552

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Biomedical optical imaging, fiber optics, medical diagnostic imaging, optical coherence tomography, optical fiber devices, scanning probe microscopy, Optical fibers, Visualization, DIAGNOSIS, Biological tissues, CAVITY, Optical imaging, LESIONS, Imaging, Lesions, Probes