Compact beveled fiber optic probe design for enhanced depth discrimination in epithelial tissues

We report the development and evaluation of a simple compact probe that incorporates multiple beveled fibers for depth sensitive detection of spectroscopic signals in vivo. We evaluated three probes with bevel angles 35, 40, and 45 degrees for their collection efficiency and depth resolution using a thin highly scattering white substrate and found that a 40 degree bevel provides the best characteristics for depth-resolved spectroscopy. The depth sensitivity of the probe with 40 degree beveled fibers was then evaluated using multilayer phantoms with scattering properties mimicking precancerous tissue and in vivo on normal human oral mucosa. The results demonstrate that the use of multiple beveled fibers has the capability to simultaneously collect scattering spectra from a range of depths within epithelial tissue that has the potential to provide further significant improvement of detection and monitoring of epithelial precancers. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America