Ballistic and snake photon imaging for locating optical endomicroscopy fibres

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to locate the end of fibre-optic devices deep in tissue by imaging ballistic and snake photons with high resolution, overcoming tissue scattering limitations in vivo.

Contribution

It introduces a novel imaging technique using time-resolved single-photon detectors to accurately locate fibre-optic tips within tissue.

Findings

Achieved centimetre resolution in tissue models.

Demonstrated effectiveness in clinically relevant settings.

Overcame tissue scattering limitations in optical localization.

Abstract

We demonstrate determination of the location of the distal-end of a fibre-optic device deep in tissue through the imaging of ballistic and snake photons using a time resolved single-photon detector array. The fibre was imaged with centimetre resolution, within clinically relevant settings and models. This technique can overcome the limitations imposed by tissue scattering in optically determining the in vivo location of fibre-optic medical instruments.