Spectral diagnosis of atherosclerosis using an optical fiber laser catheter |
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Authors: | R Richards-Kortum A Mehta G Hayes R Cothren T Kolubayev C Kittrell N B Ratliff J R Kramer M S Feld |
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Institution: | G.R. Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. |
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Abstract: | This communication demonstrates that fluorescence spectra of human aorta with good S/N ratios can be collected using an optical fiber laser catheter. The performance of this catheter is compared to a non-fiber optic collection system with an equivalent delivery/collection geometry. For a given sample, fluorescence lineshapes obtained using the two systems are identical; differences in peak fluorescence intensity are related to the different collection efficiencies of the two systems. It is shown that the fluorescence lineshape of arterial tissue depends on the delivery/collection geometry of the detection system, and that this is due to the interaction of absorption and fluorescence within the artery wall. This effect is investigated systematically using a specially designed collection system. Results are analyzed qualitatively using a simple, one-dimensional model of tissue fluorescence. With this analysis, we present design requirements for a collection system in which such geometric effects are eliminated, and show that our optical fiber laser catheter satisfies these requirements. |
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