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Research at OBEL Microscope-in-a-needle Since 2007, our research group has been developing a new type of imaging probe: a microscope-in-a needle. This is a miniaturized optical imaging probe, encased in a medical needle, capable of taking high resolution scans deep inside the body. Optical Coherence Tomography One of the group's main interests is the medical imaging technique of optical coherence tomography. Like ultrasound, OCT images are corrupted by speckle, which can be static or moving. Moving speckle is known to be useful, but we have shown that even static speckle may contain useful information. Resolution at the micron level is called ultrahigh-resolution OCT. Limits on what can be attained are set by various phenomena. We have been particularly interested in the fundamental limits set by dispersion and absorption in tissue. OCT Elastography Our interest in elastography is to measure the elastic properties of tissue using OCT systems. OCT Muscle Imaging We are investigating use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) for examining skeletal muscle tissue of animal models of muscle damage. Holography Our interest in coherent optical techniques extends to a branch of holography, Fourier holography. We are using single digital holograms to characterise microstructure in biological samples over large fields of view.
Spectral Encoding A new superresolution approach allows us to spectrally encode a sample's spatial frequencies and decode them by wavelength demultiplexing. This generates an instant direct relationship between structure size and detected wavelength. Microscopy Our interests in microscopy have led us to also become interested in fluorescence and other nonlinear optical microscopy techniques, as well as how deep tissue imaging may be improved in general. Anatomical OCT This research extends OCT usage to endoscopic scanning of large-scale hollow organs. Specifically, we have developed an endoscopic OCT probe to map the 3-D shape and dynamics of the upper airway, including during sleep, for sleep apnoea research. Skin We have also actively investigated diffuse light propagation in skin motivated by early in vivo detection of melanoma. We have mainly studied fibre-optic probes based on the diffuse reflectance spectroscopy of white light. Engineering In carrying out our research, we have built a lot of instruments comprising optical assemblies, photonic circuits, electronics, data acquisition and display systems, some of which are featured here. |
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