MOEMS-based imaging probe with integrated Mirau micro-interferometer and MEMS microscanner for swept-source OCT endomicroscopy

The early diagnosis of cancer is essential since it can be treated more effectively when detected earlier. Visual inspection followed by histological examination is, still today, the gold standard for clinicians. However, a large number of unnecessary surgical procedures are still performed. New diagnostics aids are emerging including the recent techniques of optical coherence tomography (OCT) which permits non-invasive 3D optical biopsies of biological tissues, improving patient's quality of life. Nevertheless, the existing bulk or fiber optics systems are expensive, only affordable at the hospital and thus, not sufficiently used by physicians or cancer's specialists as an early diagnosis tool. We developed an endoscopic microsystems based on Mirau interferometry and applied for swept source OCT imaging applied for gastroenterology. The architecture is based on a miniature spectrally tuned a single-channel Mirau interferometer integrated with an electro-thermal MEMS microscanner scanning the sample area.