Abstract

Novel miniaturized and hand-held optical scanning fiber-optic probes are introduced for internal and external cavity optical sensing, respectively. These probes can rapidly acquire sample data such as blood flow rates via Doppler and reflectance over a spatial domain of interest. These scanning probes are based on a wavelength multiplexing technique that offers simple control via wavelength tuning. A unique optical amplifier-variable optical attenuator combination enables the calibration of the scanning probe power response. These non-coherent miniaturized fiber-optic probes function as a precision optical knife to remove fat in blood vessels or to make intra-cavity incisions with pinpoint accuracy. System issues such as probe beam angular scan, scan distance, and insertion loss have been addressed.

© 2002 Optical Society of America