Spectral diagnosis of atherosclerosis using an optical fiber laser catheter.
This communication demonstrates that fluorescence spectra of human aorta with good S/N ratios can be collected using an optical fiber laser catheter. The performance of this catheter is compared to a non-fiber optic collection system with an equivalent delivery/collection geometry. For a given sample, fluorescence lineshapes obtained using the two systems are identical; differences in peak fluorescence intensity are related to the different collection efficiencies of the two systems. It is shown that the fluorescence lineshape of arterial tissue depends on the delivery/collection geometry of the detection system, and that this is due to the interaction of absorption and fluorescence within the artery wall. This effect is investigated systematically using a specially designed collection system. Results are analyzed qualitatively using a simple, one-dimensional model of tissue fluorescence. With this analysis, we present design requirements for a collection system in which such geometric effects are eliminated, and show that our optical fiber laser catheter satisfies these requirements.
Richards-Kortum
R
R
G.R. Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.
Mehta
A
A
Hayes
G
G
Cothren
R
R
Kolubayev
T
T
Kittrell
C
C
Ratliff
N B
NB
Kramer
J R
JR
Feld
M S
MS
D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002404:Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers / Q000295:instrumentation; D055100:Optical Fibers; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence