Parallel guidance endoscopic optical coherence tomography system for internal diagnosis through active cannulas

A parallel guidance endoscopic optical coherence tomography (OCT) system is proposed for minimally invasive internal inspection of inner organs or complex structures for diagnosis. The system is maneuvered to access the target using an active cannulas’ steerable structures. The integration of a specially designed linkage device with the developed system allows the OCT endoscope to scan with enhanced signal-collective performance, while maintaining its tip at a constant distance from the target, as well as expanding the scanning range. The proposed system is integrated with flexible active cannulas, and this prototype is used for testing. The test results show that the device reliably performs for biological samples. Thus, it could be implemented for various types of noninvasive diagnoses in situations involving small entrances or crooked passage to a target.