Single-fiber flexible endoscope: general design for small size, high resolution, and wide field of view

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Abstract
Flexible endoscopes currently used in medicine have a fundamental tradeoff. Either resolution or field of view (FOV) is sacrificed when the scope diameter is less than 3 mm, since the minimum pixel size is usually greater than 4 microns in a pixel-array such as a camera or fiber bundle. Thus, the number of pixels within the image plane determines the minimum size of a conventional scope. However, an image plane is not required for image acquisition using a scanning single-fiber scope. Both high resolution and wide FOV are possible in a scanning single-fiber scope of 1 to 2 mm in diameter. The technical challenge is to produce a two- dimensional scanned beam of light at the distal tip of the scope. By manipulating a resonant fiberoptic cantilever as the optical scanner, various 2-D scan patterns can be produced. The general design concepts and analyses of the fiberoptic scanner for scaling to small size and high resolution/FOV are reviewed. In our initial experimental tests, the size of the photon detector in a fiberoptic scanning scope is demonstrated to not affect image resolution, unlike existing endoscopes with pixel-based detector systems.

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