Integrated autofluorescence endoscopic imaging and point-wise spectroscopy for real-time in vivo tissue measurements

We report on the development of an integrated point-wise spectroscopy and autofluorescence (AF) endoscopic imaging technique for real-time in vivo tissue measurements at endoscopy. We implement a unique point spectrum optical design to realize real-time AF imaging and AF or diffuse reflectance (DR) spectroscopy measurements from a small area of tissue of interest on the AF image. We demonstrate that both the AF image and the point-wise AF/DR spectra can be simultaneously acquired from the oral cavity in vivo within 0.1 s, suggesting the potential of the integrated spectroscopy and endoscopic imaging technique developed to facilitate in vivo tissue diagnosis and characterization at endoscopy. (C) 2010 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. [DOI: 10.1117/1.3475955]