Open AccessQualitative disorder measurements from backscattering spectra through an optical fiber
Author(s) -
Ricardo Cueva Fernández,
Asier Marcos-Vidal,
Sergi Gallego,
Augusto Beléndez,
Manuel Desco,
Jorge Ripoll
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
biomedical optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.362
H-Index - 86
ISSN - 2156-7085
DOI - 10.1364/boe.396013
Subject(s) - optics , spectrograph , spectroscopy , microscopy , materials science , microscope , image resolution , resolution (logic) , spectral resolution , optical fiber , spatial frequency , pixel , spectral line , diffraction , physics , computer science , artificial intelligence , quantum mechanics , astronomy
In the processes related to the development of cancer, there are different genetic and epigenetic events involved that result in structural changes of the affected cells. In the early stages of the disease, these changes occur at the nanoscale, remaining undetectable by conventional light microscopy, due to diffraction-limited resolution (∼250 - 550 nm). In this sense, a technique termed partial wave spectroscopy (PWS) allows the detection of these nanostructural changes by measuring a statistical parameter called disorder strength ( L d ). PWS uses a combination of a tunable filter and a camera to acquire the backscattering spectra for each pixel on the image. In this paper, we study and validate the possibility of obtaining a qualitative measurement of the disorder using the spectrum of the averaged spatial information. Instead of using spatial information and measuring sequentially spectral ranges, we measure the backscattered signal gathered by an optical fiber by means of a spectrograph. This will allow this method to be applied in systems where it is not possible to acquire a complete high resolution image for many spectral bands, while significantly enhancing speed.