Flexible Single-Optical-Fibre Endoscope
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen Mary University of London
Department Name: School of Engineering & Materials Scienc
Abstract
Recently, researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Korean University demonstrated a single multimode-optical-fibre (MMF) imaging endoscope. Compared with conventional fibre-bundle based endoscopes, this device is ultra-slim, high-resolution, wide-field, lensless, low cost and disposable. The main drawback of such devices is that they cannot be used as flexible endoscopes due to image blurring caused by fibre-shape variation. However, flexible endoscopes are viewed as most desirable and are widely used in modern healthcare. In order to overcome this problem, this research aims to develop the world's first flexible single-fibre endoscope system by using a novel speckle monitoring technique. The monitoring module will consist of a calibration beam and associated optics to monitor the real-time changes in mode coupling induced by fibre movement and bending. The monitoring results will be used to predict MMF imaging transmission matrix for original image restoration. At the end of the project, a prototype device together with real-time software and algorithms will be developed for potential clinical trials and translational research. The project is highly interdisciplinary: it brings together expertise in the areas of optics, instrumentation, imaging, signal processing and surgery. The outcome of the proposed research has the potential to put the UK at the forefront of a crucial emerging area of new medical devices for modern endoscopy, which is likely to have a huge impact not only on research and patient well-being, but also on the UK and global economy.
Planned Impact
i) Healthcare and well-being: The proposed flexible single-fibre endoscope is ultras-slim, high resolution, low cost and disposable. Therefore, such a device is unique in minimally-invasive diagnosis and surgery, and will have a huge impact on healthcare and well-being. Firstly, this is due to not only the growing patient preferences but also those benefits to the healthcare system such as reduced length of stay in the hospital and cost saving, etc. Secondly, in applications such as neurosurgery and urogenital surgery, the smallest possible imaging probe needs to be used due to the nature of the tissues and organs involved. The minimally invasive procedure depends on the size of imaging probe used. The proposed device will make existing minimally-invasive procedures even less invasive. As a result, in-vivo endoscope imaging could be extended to currently unreachable surgery areas. Thirdly, the proposed device has the great potential in early detection of life-threatening diseases such as cancer. It is of vital importance for such diseases to be diagnosed and treated at an early stage, which will greatly reduce trauma and mortality.
ii) Endoscope industry: Endoscopy is the only solution to obtain high-resolution, microscopic images in deep tissues. Since the 1960s, most of minimally-invasive endoscopes have been made of dense bundles of optical fibres. The estimated global market size for endoscope industry will be more than £27 billion in 2020. Of these, flexible endoscope has a share of more than 70%. The proposed flexible single multimode optical fibre (MMF) device will lead to the next generation minimally-invasive high-resolution endoscope devices in this industry. The ultra-thin diameter and high resolution of the proposed device make it perfect for many challenging applications. The low-cost MMF-based endoscope can be disposable, which eliminates the risk of cross-contamination and possible exposure to infectious diseases when reusing the endoscope probe.
iii) Veterinary medicine: Similar as in healthcare, endoscopic procedure is widely used. In particular, for small animals, the miniaturized endoscope probe is the most desirable. The proposed ultra-slim device will have a significant impact in the field of veterinary medicine and will lead to advances in animal researches. Furthermore, the disposable feature is viewed as very appealing by veterinary clinics, as at present the cost for minimally invasive endoscopy probes is too high (above £20k) and the probes will have to be reused for many times usually above their lifetime limit.
iv) Optical Imaging: The miniature-size, super-resolution and flexibility offered by the proposed device are likely to lead to a revolution in probe-based optical imaging. Apart from the endoscopic applications, the diffraction limit resolution of the proposed device makes it very close to a high resolution microscope, and can be used to see very subtle details of materials (e.g. quantum gases) or biological tissues (e.g. single cells in deep tissues). In addition, miniaturized imaging probe have found many applications in industry and research. This include, for example, examination of aircraft combustion and blade chambers, inspection of pipes in oil and energy industry, viewing inside walls and ducts of buildings, internal examination of statues and tombs in archaeology.
ii) Endoscope industry: Endoscopy is the only solution to obtain high-resolution, microscopic images in deep tissues. Since the 1960s, most of minimally-invasive endoscopes have been made of dense bundles of optical fibres. The estimated global market size for endoscope industry will be more than £27 billion in 2020. Of these, flexible endoscope has a share of more than 70%. The proposed flexible single multimode optical fibre (MMF) device will lead to the next generation minimally-invasive high-resolution endoscope devices in this industry. The ultra-thin diameter and high resolution of the proposed device make it perfect for many challenging applications. The low-cost MMF-based endoscope can be disposable, which eliminates the risk of cross-contamination and possible exposure to infectious diseases when reusing the endoscope probe.
iii) Veterinary medicine: Similar as in healthcare, endoscopic procedure is widely used. In particular, for small animals, the miniaturized endoscope probe is the most desirable. The proposed ultra-slim device will have a significant impact in the field of veterinary medicine and will lead to advances in animal researches. Furthermore, the disposable feature is viewed as very appealing by veterinary clinics, as at present the cost for minimally invasive endoscopy probes is too high (above £20k) and the probes will have to be reused for many times usually above their lifetime limit.
iv) Optical Imaging: The miniature-size, super-resolution and flexibility offered by the proposed device are likely to lead to a revolution in probe-based optical imaging. Apart from the endoscopic applications, the diffraction limit resolution of the proposed device makes it very close to a high resolution microscope, and can be used to see very subtle details of materials (e.g. quantum gases) or biological tissues (e.g. single cells in deep tissues). In addition, miniaturized imaging probe have found many applications in industry and research. This include, for example, examination of aircraft combustion and blade chambers, inspection of pipes in oil and energy industry, viewing inside walls and ducts of buildings, internal examination of statues and tombs in archaeology.
People |
ORCID iD |
Lei Su (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Zhou Y
(2022)
Single-crystal organometallic perovskite optical fibers.
in Science advances
Zhao T
(2018)
Bayes' theorem-based binary algorithm for fast reference-less calibration of a multimode fiber.
in Optics express
Zhao T
(2018)
Optical Ultrasound Generation and Detection for Intravascular Imaging: A Review.
in Journal of healthcare engineering
Zhao L
(2018)
Route to Larger Pulse Energy in Ultrafast Fiber Lasers
in IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics
Zhao J
(2019)
Tunable and switchable harmonic h-shaped pulse generation in a 303 km ultralong mode-locked thulium-doped fiber laser
in Photonics Research
Zhang J
(2021)
Polarization-Sensitive Photodetector Using Patterned Perovskite Single-Crystalline Thin Films
in Advanced Optical Materials
Zhang J
(2022)
A review of geometry-confined perovskite morphologies: From synthesis to efficient optoelectronic applications
in Nano Research
Wu P
(2017)
Lensless wide-field single-shot imaging through turbid media based on object-modulated speckles.
in Applied optics
Wang Y
(2019)
Unusual Evolutions of Dissipative-Soliton-Resonance Pulses in an All-Normal Dispersion Fiber Laser
in IEEE Photonics Journal
Wang X
(2022)
Learning to sense three-dimensional shape deformation of a single multimode fiber.
in Scientific reports
Wang X
(2023)
Soft Optical Waveguides for Biomedical Applications, Wearable Devices, and Soft Robotics: A Review
in Advanced Intelligent Systems
Shen Z
(2016)
Vertically-oriented nanoparticle dimer based on focused plasmonic trapping.
in Optics express
Shen Z
(2016)
Trapping and rotating of a metallic particle trimer with optical vortex
in Applied Physics Letters
Shen Z
(2016)
Plasmonic trapping and tuning of a gold nanoparticle dimer.
in Optics express
Rohollahnejad J
(2017)
Fast and reliable interrogation of USFBG sensors based on MG-Y laser discrete wavelength channels
in Optics Communications
Qian S
(2016)
Investigation on sensitivity enhancement for optical fiber speckle sensors.
in Optics express
Qian S
(2017)
Power Flow in a Large-Core Multimode Fiber under External Perturbation and its Applications
in Scientific Reports
Hernandez-Alvarez C
(2023)
Tuning parameters of phase retrieval algorithm for single-shot imaging based on object-modulated speckles by particle swarm optimization
in Optics & Laser Technology
Fan P
(2021)
Learning Enabled Continuous Transmission of Spatially Distributed Information through Multimode Fibers
in Laser & Photonics Reviews
Fan P
(2022)
Deep Learning Enabled Scalable Calibration of a Dynamically Deformed Multimode Fiber
in Advanced Photonics Research
Fan P
(2019)
Deep learning the high variability and randomness inside multimode fibers.
in Optics express
Deng L
(2016)
Plasmonic nanopore-based platforms for single-molecule Raman scattering
in Optics Communications
Deng L
(2018)
Characterization of an imaging multimode optical fiber using a digital micro-mirror device based single-beam system.
in Optics express
Description | 1. Developed a novel theoretical model to describe the working principle of a single multimode fibre imaging system. 2. Developed three different configurations of single multimode fibre imaging systems: one is using a 2D scanning mirror, another is using spatial light modulator, and the third one is using a digital micromirror device. In particular the last one is novel because it does not require two beam interference to recover the phase information. 3. Designed new types of optical imaging fibres and these are being fabricated by our industrial partner YOFC Ltd. 4. Developed a deep-learning based image transmission approach through a single optical multimode fibre. |
Exploitation Route | We are working towards a prototype imaging system and applying further research and commercialisation fundings to take forward these findings. |
Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Electronics Healthcare |
Description | Our findings on the reference-less digital micromirror device based single multimode fibre imaging system can be useful in the future to design and develop compact endoscope systems in clinical applications. Based on this system, recently, my group established a world-leading research by applying deep learning in image transmission through a single multimode fibre. My group demonstrated high-density spatially distributed information transmission (not only images but also randomly distributed spatial information) continuously through an evolving single multimode fibre, which was deemed impossible in the past due to the highly variable multimode fibre information channels. This high-spatial-density data transmission framework has the potential to utilise the full spatial capacity of multimode fibres for future image and data transmission and may find applications not only in imaging transmission but also in high-capacity optical communication data links. |
Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) |
Description | CSC Visiting Scholar - Dr Haimei Luo |
Amount | £20,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Leeds |
Department | China Scholarship Council |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 12/2016 |
End | 11/2017 |
Description | CSC Visiting Scholar - Prof Chen Liu |
Amount | £20,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Leeds |
Department | China Scholarship Council |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2014 |
End | 04/2015 |
Description | EPSRC QMUL IAA |
Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Queen Mary University of London |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2016 |
End | 03/2017 |
Description | HUST Student exchange funding - Jiajia Zhao |
Amount | £8,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Huazhong University of Science and Technology |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | China |
Start | 12/2016 |
End | 05/2017 |
Description | PhD Studentship - Mr Liang Deng |
Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Liverpool |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2013 |
End | 09/2017 |
Description | PhD Studentship - Mr Zhe Shen |
Amount | £80,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Liverpool |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2013 |
End | 09/2017 |
Description | QMUL Full PhD Studentship - Michael Ruddlesden |
Amount | £80,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Queen Mary University of London |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2016 |
End | 08/2020 |
Description | QMUL-CSC (China) PhD Studentship - Jinshuai Zhang |
Amount | £90,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Leeds |
Department | China Scholarship Council |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2016 |
End | 09/2020 |
Description | QMUL-Conacyt (Mexico) PhD Studentship - Karen Blankenangel |
Amount | £90,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Mexico |
Start | 09/2016 |
End | 09/2020 |
Description | Royal Society International Exchange Scheme China NSFC |
Amount | £12,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | IE161214 |
Organisation | The Royal Society |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2017 |
End | 03/2019 |
Description | The Single Optical Fibre Scalpel |
Amount | £156,364 (GBP) |
Funding ID | H2020 790666 |
Organisation | European Research Council (ERC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Belgium |
Start | 08/2018 |
End | 09/2020 |
Description | Partnership with Industry - YOFC China |
Organisation | Yangtze Optical Fibre & Cable (Shanghai) Company Ltd. |
Country | China |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | We designed a new imaging fibre and YOFC is the collaborator to help us fabricate this fibre. |
Collaborator Contribution | YOFC Ltd is the largest optical fibre manufacturer in China with strong expertise and state-of-the-art facilities to fabricate special optical fibres. YOFC is making the special optical imaging fibres for us in this award. |
Impact | A new optical fibre is being developed. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Partnership with clinical end users - Dr Mohammed Thaha, Royal London Hospital |
Organisation | Royal London Hospital |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Hospitals |
PI Contribution | To design and develop single multimode optical fibre microendoscope for colorectal surgery conducted by the clinical end user. |
Collaborator Contribution | To provide clinical expertise in supporting the development of the microendoscope. |
Impact | Lead to Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) award of £40k Including disciplines: Engineering, Optics, and Surgery |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Partnership with industry - Covidien |
Organisation | Covidien |
Country | United States |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Develop imaging probes that can be inserted in to the surgical devices of Covidien. |
Collaborator Contribution | Provide technical advices and provide surgical devices. |
Impact | Collaboration with industry. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Company Name | Pryfiber |
Description | Pryfiber develops endoscopic technology for use within the healthcare sector. |
Year Established | 2022 |
Impact | Received venture capital seed investment of £100k. |
Website | https://pryfiber.health/ |
Description | Invited talk and Technical Programme Co-Chiar, OGC Conference China 2015 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presented the research in Optical Global Conference 2015, Shenzhe China. More than 300 Academics and Research students attended this conference. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.light2015.org/Home/Event-Programme/2015/Conference/China-OGC-2015.html |
Description | OECC 2015 Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Around 50 academics attended this invited talk in the conference. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Presented research in QM Festival in 2016 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Our team presented our research on optical imaging probes and endoscopic devices to the general public in Barts and Queen Mary Science Festival in July 2016. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |