MEMS-based endoscopic optical coherence tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an emerging imaging technique that can provide high-resolution cross-sectional images of biological tissues. OCT has been used to detect various cancers including those in gastrointestinal tracts, bladder, and respiratory pathways. For in vivo imaging in visceral organs, small size and fast speed are essential, which can be achieved by using MEMS (Microelectromechanical systems) technology. In this paper, design and experimental results of a miniature endoscopic OCT imaging probe based on unique single-crystal silicon (SCS) MEMS micromirrors are reported. Several generations of one-dimensional (1D) micromirrors with a size of 1 mm by 1 mm have been fabricated. The resonant frequencies and radii of curvature of the micromirrors are about 0.5 kHz and 0.25 m, respectively. The packaged MEMS-OCT probe is 5 mm in diameter. About 15-µm axial resolutions, 20-µm transverse resolutions and 5-frames/s image rates are obtained.