Chip-on-the-tip compact flexible endoscopic epifluorescence video-microscope for in-vivo imaging in medicine and biomedical research

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Gregor Matz - , GRINTECH GmbH, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Author)
  • Bernhard Messerschmidt - , GRINTECH GmbH (Author)
  • Werner Göbel - , Karl Storz SE & Co. KG (Author)
  • Severin Filser - , Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Author)
  • Christian S. Betz - , Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Author)
  • Matthias Kirsch - , Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Ortrud Uckermann - , Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Marcel Kunze - , GRINTECH GmbH (Author)
  • Sven Flämig - , GRINTECH GmbH (Author)
  • André Ehrhardt - , Karl Storz SE & Co. KG (Author)
  • Klaus Martin Irion - , Karl Storz SE & Co. KG (Author)
  • Mareike Haack - , Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Author)
  • Mario M. Dorostkar - , Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Author)
  • Jochen Herms - , Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Author)
  • Herbert Gross - , Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Author)

Abstract

We demonstrate a 60 mg light video-endomicroscope with a cylindrical shape of the rigid tip of only 1.6 mm diameter and 6.7 mm length. A novel implementation method of the illumination unit in the endomicroscope is presented. It allows for the illumination of the biological sample with fiber-coupled LED light at 455 nm and the imaging of the red-shifted fluorescence light above 500 nm in epi-direction. A large numerical aperture of 0.7 leads to a sub-cellular resolution and yields to high-contrast images within a field of view of 160 µm. A miniaturized chip-on-the-tip CMOS image sensor with more than 150,000 pixels captures the multicolor images at 30 fps. Considering size, plug-and-play capability, optical performance, flexibility and weight, we hence present a probe which sets a new benchmark in the field of epifluorescence endomicroscopes. Several ex-vivo and in-vivo experiments in rodents and humans suggest future application in biomedical fields, especially in the neuroscience community, as well as in medical applications targeting optical biopsies or the detection of cellular anomalies.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3329-3342
Number of pages14
JournalBiomedical optics express
Volume8
Issue number7
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2017
Peer-reviewedYes