Half-ball lens couples a beveled fiber probe for depth-resolved spectroscopy: Monte Carlo simulations.

In this study, we propose a beveled fiber-optic probe coupled with a half-ball lens for improving the depth-resolved fluorescence measurements of epithelial tissue. The Monte Carlo (MC) simulation results show that for a given excitation-collection fiber separation, the probe design with a bevel-angled collection fiber is more sensitive to detect fluorescence photons emitted from the shallow layer of tissue, whereas the flat-tip collection fiber is in favor of probing fluorescence photons originating from deeper tissue areas. This compact half-ball lens-beveled fiber probe design has the potential to facilitate the depth-resolved fluorescence detection of epithelial tissue.