Three dimensional optical imaging colposcopy

US5921926A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• University of Central Florida · US

Inventors

• Jannick P. Rolland · Orlando, US
• Peter J. Delfyett · Orlando, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 31, 1997
• Grant date: Jul 13, 1999
• Expiry date: Dec 31, 2017

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10S977/951
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An optical coherence tomography(OCT) and spectral interferometry imaging probe for the automatic screening and diagnosis of cervical and skin cancer in vivo. The probe eliminates the old techniques of having to perform Pap smears followed by a biopsy, known as colposcopy. The novel probe is cylindrical in shape and has a disposable outer plastic shield. Inside the probe is a motor driven rotatable casing having a planar optical fiber bundle array therein. The fiber bundle array has plastic light coupling lenslet arrays on both ends. The exposed end of the probe has one lenslet array disc that couples light between the probe and an interior of the cervix area being examined. Both the casing and the bundle array rotate relative to the outer probe walls. Inside the casing is a rotatable motor driven scanning mirror which couples passes light from an incoming second fiber bundle array to the lenslet array on the inside end of the rotatable casing fiber bundle array. The incoming second fiber bundle array is attached to a detector located external and remote to the probe. The detector has a tunable light source and a spectrometer for providing 3-D images of the interior of the cervix. T…