Tunable Endoscopic MEMS-Probe for Optical Coherence Tomography

A novel miniaturized tunable endoscopic MEMS probe employable in an endoscopic optical coherence tomography (OCT) system is presented. The probe consists of a pneumatically-actuated micro-lens and a GRIN lens coupled to an optical fiber. Silicon micromachining using polydimethylsiloxane was used to fabricate the lens. The probe has a diameter of 5 mm. The successful integration of the tunable endoscopic probe with an OCT imager promises to be of value in medical diagnostics, particularly for the early detection of internal tumors and cancers.