Sanderson Rowan W, Curatolo Andrea, Wijesinghe Philip, Chin Lixin, Kennedy Brendan F
BRITElab, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands and Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, 6009, Australia.
Department of Electrical, Electronic & Computer Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, Western Australia, 6009, Australia.
Biomed Opt Express. 2019 Mar 11;10(4):1760-1773. doi: 10.1364/BOE.10.001760. eCollection 2019 Apr 1.
We present a finger-mounted quantitative micro-elastography (QME) probe, capable of measuring the elasticity of biological tissue in a format that avails of the dexterity of the human finger. Finger-mounted QME represents the first demonstration of a wearable elastography probe. The approach realizes optical coherence tomography-based elastography by focusing the optical beam into the sample via a single-mode fiber that is fused to a length of graded-index fiber. The fiber is rigidly affixed to a 3D-printed thimble that is mounted on the finger. Analogous to manual palpation, the probe compresses the tissue through the force exerted by the finger. The resulting deformation is measured using optical coherence tomography. Elasticity is estimated as the ratio of local stress at the sample surface, measured using a compliant layer, to the local strain in the sample. We describe the probe fabrication method and the signal processing developed to achieve accurate elasticity measurements in the presence of motion artifact. We demonstrate the probe's performance in motion-mode scans performed on homogeneous, bi-layer and inclusion phantoms and its ability to measure a thermally-induced increase in elasticity in muscle tissue. In addition, we demonstrate the ability to acquire 2D images with the finger-mounted probe where lateral scanning is achieved by swiping the probe across the sample surface.
我们展示了一种手指佩戴式定量微弹性成像（QME）探头，它能够以利用人类手指灵活性的形式测量生物组织的弹性。手指佩戴式QME是可穿戴弹性成像探头的首次展示。该方法通过一根单模光纤将光束聚焦到样品中，该单模光纤与一段渐变折射率光纤熔接，从而实现基于光学相干断层扫描的弹性成像。光纤被牢固地固定在一个3D打印的套管上，该套管安装在手指上。类似于手动触诊，探头通过手指施加的力压缩组织。使用光学相干断层扫描测量由此产生的变形。弹性被估计为使用柔顺层测量的样品表面局部应力与样品局部应变的比值。我们描述了探头的制造方法以及为在存在运动伪影的情况下实现准确的弹性测量而开发的信号处理方法。我们展示了探头在对均匀、双层和内含物仿体进行的运动模式扫描中的性能，以及它测量肌肉组织中热诱导弹性增加的能力。此外，我们展示了使用手指佩戴式探头获取二维图像的能力，其中通过在样品表面滑动探头实现横向扫描。
