Miniaturized pulsed laser source for time-domain diffuse optics routes to wearable devices

Laura Di Sieno; Jan Nissinen; Lauri Hallman; Edoardo Martinenghi; Davide Contini; Antonio Pifferi; Juha Kostamovaara; Alberto D. Mora

doi:10.1117/1.JBO.22.8.085004

19 August 2017 Miniaturized pulsed laser source for time-domain diffuse optics routes to wearable devices

Laura Di Sieno, Jan Nissinen, Lauri Hallman, Edoardo Martinenghi, Davide Contini, Antonio Pifferi, Juha Kostamovaara, Alberto D. Mora

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Journal of Biomedical Optics, Vol. 22, Issue 8, 085004 (August 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.22.8.085004

Abstract

We validate a miniaturized pulsed laser source for use in time-domain (TD) diffuse optics, following rigorous and shared protocols for performance assessment of this class of devices. This compact source (12×6 mm2) has been previously developed for range finding applications and is able to provide short, high energy (∼100 ps, ∼0.5 nJ) optical pulses at up to 1 MHz repetition rate. Here, we start with a basic level laser characterization with an analysis of suitability of this laser for the diffuse optics application. Then, we present a TD optical system using this source and its performances in both recovering optical properties of tissue-mimicking homogeneous phantoms and in detecting localized absorption perturbations. Finally, as a proof of concept of in vivo application, we demonstrate that the system is able to detect hemodynamic changes occurring in the arm of healthy volunteers during a venous occlusion. Squeezing the laser source in a small footprint removes a key technological bottleneck that has hampered so far the realization of a miniaturized TD diffuse optics system, able to compete with already assessed continuous-wave devices in terms of size and cost, but with wider performance potentialities, as demonstrated by research over the last two decades.

CC BY: © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

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Laura Di Sieno, Jan Nissinen, Lauri Hallman, Edoardo Martinenghi, Davide Contini, Antonio Pifferi, Juha Kostamovaara, and Alberto D. Mora "Miniaturized pulsed laser source for time-domain diffuse optics routes to wearable devices," Journal of Biomedical Optics 22(8), 085004 (19 August 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.22.8.085004

Received: 4 April 2017; Accepted: 27 July 2017; Published: 19 August 2017

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