Prospective on using fibre mid-infrared supercontinuum laser sources for in vivo spectral discrimination of disease

Mid-infrared (MIR) fibre-optics may play a future role in in vivo diagnosis of disease, including cancer. Recently, we reported for the first time an optical fibre based broadband supercontinuum (SC) laser source spanning 1.3 to 13.4 m wavelength to cover the spectral fingerprint region' of biological tissue. This work has catalysed the new field of fibre MIR-SC and now very bright sources equivalent to a few synchrotrons' have been demonstrated in fibre. In addition, we have made record transparency MIR fibre for routeing the MIR light and reported first-time MIR photoluminescence (with long lifetime) in small-core, rare earth ion doped, MIR fibre - an important step towards MIR fibre lasing at >4 m wavelength for pumping fibre MIR-SC. First time fibre MIR-SC spectroscopic imaging of colon tissue is described at wavelengths in the fingerprint region'.