Needle guidance with Doppler-tracked polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

Danielle J. Harper; Yongjoo Kim; Alejandra Gómez-Ramírez; Benjamin J. Vakoc

doi:10.1117/1.JBO.28.10.102910

4 October 2023 Needle guidance with Doppler-tracked polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

Danielle J. Harper, Yongjoo Kim, Alejandra Gómez-Ramírez, Benjamin J. Vakoc

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Biomedical Optics, Vol. 28, Issue 10, 102910 (October 2023). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.28.10.102910

Abstract

Significance

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) can be integrated into needle probes to provide real-time navigational guidance. However, unscanned implementations, which are the simplest to build, often struggle to discriminate the relevant tissues.

Aim

We explore the use of polarization-sensitive (PS) methods as a means to enhance signal interpretability within unscanned coherence tomography probes.

Approach

Broadband light from a laser centered at 1310 nm was sent through a fiber that was embedded into a needle. The polarization signal from OCT fringes was combined with Doppler-based tracking to create visualizations of the birefringence properties of the tissue. Experiments were performed in (i) well-understood structured tissues (salmon and shrimp) and (ii) ex vivo porcine spine. The porcine experiments were selected to illustrate an epidural guidance use case.

Results

In the porcine spine, unscanned and Doppler-tracked PS OCT imaging data successfully identified the skin, subcutaneous tissue, ligament, and epidural spaces during needle insertion.

Conclusions

PS imaging within a needle probe improves signal interpretability relative to structural OCT methods and may advance the clinical utility of unscanned OCT needle probes in a variety of applications.

CC BY: © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

Citation Download Citation

Danielle J. Harper, Yongjoo Kim, Alejandra Gómez-Ramírez, and Benjamin J. Vakoc "Needle guidance with Doppler-tracked polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography," Journal of Biomedical Optics 28(10), 102910 (4 October 2023). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.28.10.102910

Received: 22 May 2023; Accepted: 22 September 2023; Published: 4 October 2023

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