A new device for non-invasive tissue biopsy

Two-photon imaging

A traditional endoscope is well suited for detection and intervention of disease. However, using it for diagnosis is an invasive and time-consuming procedure involving the removal of bodily tissue. A new endoscope that could perform diagnoses non-invasively would revolutionize endoscopic procedures and create a profitable new market in medicine. This project’s goal is to develop a new kind of endoscope by integrating two-photon imaging. The new endoscope would allow 3D imaging of opaque tissue specimens with sub-cellular resolution and would permit rapid, noninvasive diagnosis of tissue pathology. While there are formidable technical challenges to incorporating a two-photon microscope module into an endoscope, they can be adequately met by the project team’s combined expertise in tissue optics, two-photon microscopy, meso-scale actuation, micro-optics assembly, and photonic bandgap fiber fabrication.