Polarization-sensitive nano-optic endoscope (Conference Presentation)

Polarization sensitive imaging can reveal the arrangement of tissue constituents without the need for resolving power necessary to directly visualize them. Several clinical applications for diseases in the pulmonary tract and the coronary artery can benefit from such capability. Unfortunately, robust and reliable endoscopic polarimetry is plagued by the unpredictability of the polarization state of light delivered to and collected from tissue through fiber optic catheters. We propose a nano-optic endoscope that uses polarization-sensitive metalenses to deliver and collection light of known polarization states to and from tissue, enabling measurement of tissue retardation and optic axis unambiguously.