阅读说明：本技术 测量系统 (Measuring system ) 是由 D·安德森 柏拉卡斯·斯里达尔·穆尔蒂 于 2020-04-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供了一种用于测量的系统(1)。系统(1)包括核心光学模块(10)和扫描接口模块(11)。核心光学模块被配置成生成用于产生用于分析通过扫描接口模块的对象的信号的光(58),并且检测来自通过扫描接口模块的对象的包括该信号的光(59)。扫描接口模块对于各应用是可改变的,并且被配置为通过光传送单元(15)与核心光学模块连接,以利用来自核心光学模块的传送光来扫描对象,并接收来自对象的光以传送至核心光学模块。(A system (1) for measuring is provided. The system (1) includes a core optics module (10) and a scanning interface module (11). The core optics module is configured to generate light (58) for generating a signal for analyzing the object passing through the scan interface module and to detect light (59) from the object passing through the scan interface module that includes the signal. The scanning interface module is changeable for each application and is configured to connect with the core optical module through a light transmission unit (15) to scan a subject with transmission light from the core optical module and to receive light from the subject for transmission to the core optical module.)

1. A system comprising a core optics module and a scan interface module,

wherein the core optics module is configured to generate light for producing a signal for analysis of an object passing through the scan interface module and to detect light including the signal from an object passing through the scan interface module; and

the scanning interface module is changeable for each application, and is configured to connect with the core optical module with an optical transmission unit to scan the object with transmission light from the core optical module and to receive light from the object for transmission to the core optical module.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the scanning interface module is separate from the core optics module but connected to the light delivery unit.

3. The system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the core optics module comprises:

an optical plate on which a plurality of optical elements constituting an optical path for generating light are mounted; and

a fiber laser housing configured to house at least one fiber laser that generates laser light to feed to the optical plate.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the core optics module comprises a stacked structure in which the optical plate and the fiber laser housing are stacked.

5. The system of claim 3 or 4, wherein the core optical module further comprises a temperature control unit configured to control the temperature of the optical plate.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the temperature control unit controls the temperature of the optical plate to be higher than an ambient temperature.

7. The system of any of claims 3 to 6, wherein the plurality of optical elements comprises optical elements for:

supplying stokes light having a first wavelength range and pump light having a second wavelength range shorter than the first wavelength range;

supplying probe light having a wavelength range shorter than the wavelength range of CARS light generated by Stokes light and pump light to emit the probe light with a time difference with respect to emission of the pump light;

coaxially outputting the stokes light, the pump light, and the probe light to the optical transmission unit; and

TD-CARS light generated by Stokes light, pump light and probe light at the object is acquired from the light transmission unit.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the core optics module further comprises a probe delay stage having an actuator for controlling the time difference.

9. The system of claim 7 or 8, wherein the plurality of optical elements further comprises optical elements for:

supplying OCT light having a third wavelength range that is shorter than the second wavelength range and that at least partially overlaps with the wavelength range of TD-CARS light;

outputting the OCT light to the optical transmission unit coaxially with the Stokes light, the pump light, and the probe light; and

acquiring reflected OCT light from the light transmission unit,

wherein the core optics module further comprises an OCT engine configured to separate reference light from OCT light and to generate interference light using the reference light and reflected OCT light from the light transmission unit.

10. The system of any of claims 7 to 9, wherein the core optics module further comprises a detector to detect TD-CARS light.

11. The system of claim 9, the core optics module further comprising a detector comprising a detection wavelength range, wherein at least a portion of the detection wavelength range is shared with TD-CARS light and interference light.

12. The system of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the optical transmission unit comprises an optical fiber or a free space coupling.

13. The system of claims 1 to 12, wherein the scan interface module comprises one of a minimally invasive sampler, a non-invasive sampler, and a flow sampler.

14. The system of claims 1-13, wherein the scan interface module comprises one of a wearable scan interface, a fingertip scan interface, a urine sampler, and a dialysis drain sampler.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to systems for measuring objects.

Background

In publication WO2014/061147, a microscope is disclosed. The microscope includes: a first light splitting part that splits a luminous flux of light from the light source into a first pump luminous flux and a second pump luminous flux; a Stokes (Stokes) light source that receives the second pump light flux as an input and outputs a Stokes light flux; a multiplexing section that multiplexes the first pump luminous flux and the stokes luminous flux to generate multiplexed luminous flux; a first light collecting portion that collects the multiplexed light flux in the sample; a first detector that detects CARS light generated from the sample, the CARS light having a wavelength different from the multiplexed luminous flux; a second dichroic portion that partially takes at least one of the second pump luminous flux and the stokes luminous flux branch as a reference luminous flux; a second multiplexing section that multiplexes the light flux from the sample and the reference light flux to generate interference light; and a second detector that detects the interference light.

Disclosure of Invention

One aspect of the invention is a system that includes a core optics module and a scan interface module. The core optics module is configured to generate light for producing a signal for analysis by illuminating an object passing through the scan interface module and to detect light including the signal from a target passing through the scan interface module. The scanning interface module is changeable for each application, and is configured to be connected with the core optical module through a light transmission unit to scan the object with transmission light from the core optical module and to receive light from the object to be transmitted to the core optical module.

In the system of the present invention, since a plurality of types of scanning interface modules can share the core optical module, a system for a plurality of applications can be provided in a short period of time at low cost. The scan interface module may be a minimally invasive sampler, a non-invasive sampler, or a flow sampler. The scanning interface module may be a wearable scanning interface, a fingertip scanning interface, a urine sampler, or a dialysis drain sampler for measuring glucose, hemoglobin A1c, creatinine, and albumin, among others.

Drawings

The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the system of the present invention.

Fig. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a scan interface module.

Fig. 3 shows another embodiment of the system.

Fig. 4 shows an arrangement of an optical plate and a fiber optic housing of an optical core module.

Fig. 5 shows a block diagram of the system.

Figure 6 shows a block diagram of a fibre laser assembly.

Fig. 7 shows a wavelength plan of a fiber laser assembly.

FIG. 8 shows a wavelength plan of TD-CARS.

Fig. 9 shows a delay stage.

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of a temperature control module.

Fig. 11 shows a conceptual configuration of an optical system of the system.

Fig. 12 shows an example of arrangement of optical plates.

Detailed Description

The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, these examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.

Fig. 1 shows a system 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 1 shows a core optical module (core module) 10 and a plurality of types of scanning interface modules 11, 12 and 13 for configuring a measurement system 1. For some applications, the system 1 for measuring the state and composition, etc. of an object comprises connecting the core optical module 10 and one of the scanning modules 11 to 13 of any type with the light delivery unit 15. The optical transmission unit 15 may be an optical fiber 15a or a free space coupling connector 15 b. By using free-space coupling connector 15b, a selected type of scanning interface module of modules 11 to 13 may be stacked on core optics module 10. By using the optical fiber 15a, the measurement system 1 can be freely arranged, such as stacking, side-by-side or maintaining the distance between the optical core module 10 and a selected type of scanning interface module of the modules 11 to 13.

One system of the embodiment is a measurement system 1 comprising a core optics module 10 and a fingertip scanning interface module 11 connected to the core module 10 by an optical fiber 15 a. As shown in fig. 2 (a), the fingertip-type scanning interface module 11 includes an interface 18 for inserting a finger tip 19 as an object, and a button 18a at the top to apply pressure to the finger tip to limit movement at the scanning end. The core optics module 10 is configured to generate light 58 for analyzing a signal of the object 19 passing through the scan interface module 11 and to detect light 59 including the signal from the object 19 passing through the scan interface module 11. The scanning interface module 11 is changeable for each application, and is configured to connect with the core optical module 10 through the light transmission unit 15 to scan the object (sample, target) 19 with the transmission light 58 from the core optical module 10, and to receive the light 59 from the object 19 to transmit to the core optical module 10.

In fig. 1, three different types of scan interface modules 11, 12 and 13 are shown. Each of the scanning interface modules 11, 12, and 13 is separate from the core optical module 10, but is connected with the core optical module 10 via an optical transmission unit 15 such as an optical fiber 15 a. The type of scan interface module may be changeable or selectable for various applications such as invasive applications, non-invasive applications, flow measurement applications, and the like. The basic configuration of all types of scan interface modules, including modules 12 and 13, is common to scan interface module 11.

The fingertip-type scan interface module 11 is an example of a non-invasive sampler. Fig. 2 (b) shows another type of module 11a of a non-invasive sampler. The module 11a includes a dome 18b similar to a computer mouse, the dome 18b being used for ergonomic positioning of a palm to obtain internal information of a living body through the palm using light from the core optical module 10. The blood glucose monitoring system 1 may be supplied by a core optical system 10 and a non-invasive sampler 11.

The scan interface module 12 is an example of a minimally invasive sampler that may include a micro sampling tool such as minimally invasive microneedles and microarrays so that the subject does not feel pain when performing an insertion that samples bodily fluids such as subcutaneous interstitial fluid. Minimally invasive microsampling tools are useful for sensing biological information by measuring the concentration of components in bodily fluids, as well as transdermal drug delivery. The drug monitoring system 1 may be supplied by a core optics module 10 and a minimally invasive sampler 12.

The scan interface module 13 is an example of a flow sampler that may include a flow path 13a through which a target liquid (subject) flows. The target fluid may be urine, dialysis drainage, blood, water or solution, etc. The health management and/or monitoring system 1 may be supplied by a core optical module 10 and a flow sampler 13 as a urine sampler. The dialysis monitoring system 1 can be supplied by a core optical module 10 and a flow sampler 13 as a dialysis drain sampler.

Fig. 3 shows a system of another embodiment of the invention. System 1 includes a wearable scanning interface 14, a portable optical core module 10, and an optical fiber 15a connecting wearable scanning interface 14 and portable optical core module 10. The wearable scanning interface 14 may be a wristwatch-type device, or integrated in a wristwatch-type communication device such as a smart watch. In the wearable scanning interface 14, optical elements and/or optical paths for guiding and/or generating light for scanning an object may be provided or integrated in a chip-type optical device having a size of the order of mm or less. The portable optical core module 10 may have the size of a cellular phone or be integrated in a cellular phone or smart phone. The portable optical core module 10 may include at least a laser source device, a detector (spectrometer) and a battery, and other optical elements may be included in a chip-type optical device mounted in the wearable interface 14. The wearable scanning interface 14 may be a pair of glasses-type devices, such as smart glasses, pendant-type devices, and attachment-type devices, among others. The portable optical core module 10 may be shared with various types of scanning interfaces that may be changed. The wearable scanning interface 14 may include a display 14a for outputting measurements and/or other information of the system 1. The portable core module 10 may include a display 10a for displaying measurement values and/or monitoring results and/or other information of the system 1.

As shown in fig. 1, the core optical module 10 includes an optical bench (optical mount) 20 with an optical plate 21 on the upper side and a fiber laser housing 22 on the lower side. On the optical plate 21, a plurality of optical elements constituting an optical path for generating light 58 are mounted. The fiber laser housing 22 is configured to accommodate at least one fiber laser that generates laser light to be fed to the optical plate 21. The core optical module 10 includes a stack structure 20 in which an optical plate 21 and a fiber laser housing 22 are stacked. In addition to the optical bench 20, the core optical module 10 may have a multi-layer structure including a power supply board and an electrical control board. The control board may include the communication and control functions of the system, a user interface, and power for the electrical and laser modules.

One example of light 58 for generating a signal for analyzing the subject 19 is a combination of Raman Spectroscopy (RS) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). Both optical imaging and spectroscopy have been applied for invasive and non-invasive characterization of objects (target subjects). Imaging techniques such as OCT are good at relaying images of the microstructure of the target object, while spectroscopic methods such as CARS (coherent anti-stokes raman scattering) can probe the molecular composition of the target object with excellent specificity.

OCT is a method of obtaining shape information reflecting a change in refractive index using interference between reflected light from an object (target) and reference light that does not irradiate the object. CARS is based on a nonlinear optical phenomenon in which, when two light beams having different wavelengths are incident on a subject, CARS light having a wavelength corresponding to the vibration of molecules forming the subject is obtained. Regarding detecting the direction of the CARS light to the incident direction of the pump light and the stokes light, a plurality of different methods such as transmission CARS and reflection CARS may be arranged.

Time-resolved coherent anti-stokes raman scattering or time-delayed coherent anti-stokes raman scattering (TD-CARS) microscopy is also considered as a technique to suppress the off-resonance background by exploiting the different time responses of virtual electron transitions and raman transitions. There is a need for a system that can easily apply this measurement method to a variety of applications.

The fingertip scanning interface 11 can, for example, scan the skin of the finger 19 inserted in the interface 18 with light 58 generated in the optical core block 10 and supplied through the light transfer unit 15 to generate TD-CARS signals and OCT signals, and send light 59 including signals (light) of TD-CARS and OCT to the core optical block 10 through the light transfer unit 15. The fingertip scanning interface 11 may be connected with the core module 10 by wire or wirelessly to communicate with the core module 10 or with the cloud through the core module 10.

Fig. 4 (a) shows the arrangement of the optical plate 21, and fig. 4 (b) shows the arrangement of the fiber laser housing 22. On the optical plate 21, a plurality of optical elements 30 such as a mirror, a prism, and a dichroic mirror are mounted to constitute an optical path described below. The optical board 21 may include a detector 24 for detecting a signal included in the light 59 returned from the scanning interface module 11, and a controller box 25 accommodating a plurality of modules. On the fiber laser housing 22, a fiber laser assembly 40 and a detection delay stage 29 are mounted.

Fig. 5 shows a block diagram of the system 1. The scanning interface module 11 may include a fingertip scanning window 11x and an autofocus objective lens 11y to illuminate (emit) light 58 from the optical core module 10 to the subject and receive light 59 from the subject for transmission to the optical core module 10. Optical core module 10 can include a optics head module 26 and an optics base module 27. The head module 26 may be included in the scan interface module 11, and the connection 16 between the head module 26 and the optics base module 27 may be a light transfer unit. The optical base module 27 includes an excitation source module 28, a detector 24, a temperature control module 70, and control modules 25 a-25 e. The control modules 25a to 25e are accommodated in the control box 25. The excitation source module 28 includes a fiber laser assembly 40 and an optical path for supplying light for generating the TD-CARS signal and the OCT signal. A femtosecond fiber laser source module 41 for stokes light 51, pump light 52 and OCT light 53 is included in the fiber laser assembly 40; a picosecond laser source module 42 for detecting light 54; and a thermal and power conditioning module 43 for controlling the power supply to the laser modules 41 and 42.

On the optical plate 21 of the optical test stand 20, an optical path 31 for supplying stokes light 51 having a first wavelength range R1 is provided by using a plurality of optical elements 30 including mirrors, switching elements, reflectors, prisms, lenses, and filters such as a short-wave pass Filter (FP) and a long-wave pass filter (LP); an optical path 32 for supplying pump light 52 having a second wavelength range R2 shorter than the first wavelength range R1; an optical path 34 for supplying probe light 54 having a wavelength range R4; an optical path 39 for coaxially outputting the stokes light 51, the pump light 52, and the probe light 54 to the optical transmission unit 15; and an optical path 35 for acquiring TD-CARS light 55 generated by stokes light 51, pump light 52, and probe light 54 at the subject from the light transmission unit 15. TD-CARS light 55 has a wavelength range R5 that is shorter than the wavelength range of CARS light generated only by stokes light 51 and pump light 52. The optical path 34 includes a probe delay stage (probe delay stage)29, and the probe delay stage 29 has an actuator for controlling to emit probe light 54 with a time difference from the emission of the pump light 52.

On the optical plate 21, by using the plurality of optical elements 30, there are further provided an optical path 33 for supplying OCT light 53 having a third wavelength range R3 that is shorter than the second wavelength range R2 and at least partially overlaps with the wavelength range R5 of the TD-CARS light 55, an optical path 36 for acquiring reflected OCT light 62 from the light transmission unit 15, and an OCT engine 60. Path 36 includes a dichroic mirror 68 for outputting OCT light 53 and receiving reflected light 62 or returning reflected light 62 to OCT engine 60. The OCT engine 60 is configured to separate the reference light 61 from the OCT light 53, and generate interference light 63 by the reference light 61 and reflected OCT light 62 from the subject through the light transmission unit 15. The optical path 39 outputs the OCT light 53 to the optical transmission unit 15 coaxially with the stokes light 51, the pump light 52, and the probe light 54. The optical path 39 may include a beam adjusting unit 39c, a beam alignment unit 39a, a beam steering unit 39b, and a dichroic mirror device 39 d. The dichroic mirror 39d forms light 58 by combining the lights 51, 52, and 54 for generating TD-CARS 55 and the OCT light 53, and separates return light 59 including TD-CARS light 55 and reflected light 62. Instead of or together with the use of optical elements, these optical paths may be provided in or using a chip-type optical device. Instead of being provided in the optical core module, all or part of these optical paths may be provided in a scanning module such as the wearable model 14.

Core optics module 10 also includes detector 24 for detecting OCT interference light 63 and TD-CARS light 55. Detector 24 includes a detection wavelength range that is at least partially shared with TD-CARS light 55 and interfering light 63. Core optics module 10 also includes an analyzer 25a for acquiring data from detector 24 and analyzing the data. The analyzer 25a may include a high-speed data acquisition module 25b and a system controller and communication interface module 25 c. Communication interface module 25c may communicate with laser assembly 40, detector 24, temperature control module 70, switching elements in the optical path, and other control elements in core optical module 10 via embedded switch platform 25 d. The core optical module 10 may include a cloud-based UI platform 25e to communicate with an external device such as a personal computer 80 or a server via the internet. The system 1, including the optical core module 10 and the scanning interface module 11, may communicate with an application 81 installed in a computer 80 to provide services to one or more users using the system 1.

Figure 6 shows one embodiment of a fiber laser assembly 40. Fig. 7 shows a wavelength plan view of the fiber laser assembly 40. The component may be a MOPA (master oscillator power amplifier) fiber laser and includes a source laser diode LD041a for pumping the oscillator to generate source laser pulses at 1560 nm. Photodetector PD0 provides a feedback signal to ensure that pulse 1560nm is stable with environmental changes. The source laser 50 is divided into ports of a detection generation precursor (precursor)42a of the picosecond laser source module 42 and a generation stage 41b of the femtosecond fiber laser source module 41. In the generation stage 41b, the laser LD1 pumps an Er (erbium doped) preamplifier spliced with a highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF) to generate 1040nm to feed to the stokes generation precursor 41 c. In precursor 41c, laser LD2 pumped the Yb (ytterbium doped) preamplifier to amplify the 1040nm pulse, and laser LD3 pumped the Yb high power amplifier to produce 600mW of average power at 1040 nm. The laser light output from the stokes-generation precursor 41c is supplied to the compressor 41d through a parabolic collimator to generate stokes light 51 having a broadband Supercontinuum (SC) generated in the Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF)41 e. The laser light output from the compressor 41d is split to generate pump light 52.

In probing precursor 42a, laser LD4 pumped the Er high power amplifier to generate 150mW of average power at 1560 nm. The laser light output from the probe generation precursor 42a is supplied to the compressor 42b through a parabolic collimator, and a high-power 1560nm pulse is frequency-doubled to 780nm pulse via PPLN (periodically poled lithium niobate nonlinear crystal) serving as SHG (second harmonic generation) to generate probe light 54. The stokes light 51, the pump light 52, and the OCT light 53 may include one to several hundreds fS (femtosecond) order pulses having several tens to several hundreds mW. Probe light 54 may include one to tens of pS (picosecond) order pulses with tens to hundreds of mW.

Fig. 7 shows a wavelength plan view of the optical core module 10. The optical core module 10 should meet the requirements of several modes of operation with minimal hardware and cost. A requirement for the optical core module 10 may be that the CARS emission must not overlap with the TD-CARS emission. Another requirement for the optical core module 10 may be that TD-CARS emission must overlap with OCT excitation to obtain a shared spectrometer range. Yet another requirement for the optical core module 10 may be that the excitation must have good through-tissue efficiency. That is, the stokes light 51 having the first range R1, the pumping light 52 having the second range R2, the probe light 54 having the fourth range R4, and the OCT light 53 and TD-CARS light 55 having the third ranges R3 and R5 should be arranged in the range of the optical window between 600nm and 1300nm, in which the absorptance of the major parts of the living body such as water, melanin, reduced hemoglobin (Hb), oxygenated hemoglobin (o 2), and the like is considerably low.

In the plan view shown in FIG. 8, the Stokes light 51 has a first wavelength range R11085 to 1230nm (400cm-1 to 1500cm-1), the pump light 52 has a second wavelength range R21040 nm, the probe light 54 has a fourth wavelength range R4780 nm, the OCT light 53 (interference light 63) has a third wavelength range R3620 to 780nm, and the TD-CARS light 55 has a wavelength range R5680 to 760 nm. All ranges R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 are included in the wavelength range 600nm to 1300 nm. The second range R2 is shorter than the first range R1, the third range R3 is shorter than the second range R2, the fourth range R4 is shorter than the second range R2 and is larger than or included in the third range R3, and the range R5 of TD-CARS 55 is shorter than the fourth range R4 and at least partially overlaps with the third range R3. The wavelength range DR of detector 24 can be 620-780 nm shared with OCT's interference light 63 and TD-CARS 55. In this plan view, only one detector 24 is required, having a detection wavelength range DR shared with TD-CARS 55 and OCT light 53 (63). By applying a single and common detector 24 that shares the detection wavelength range DR between the CARS and OCT detections, the system configuration becomes simplified and the spectral resolution of the CARS detector and the OCT imaging depth increase. In this optical core module 10, time-division scanning may be required because the CARS light 55 and the OCT light 53(63) use the same spectral range of a single detector 24. The optical switching elements 38a and 38b in the optical core module 10 may be used for time sharing control.

In this plan view, TD-CARS 55 having a wavelength range R5 shorter than the range R4 of probe light 54 are generated by using probe light having a wavelength range R4 (e.g., 780nm) shorter than the range R2 of pump light 12. That is, by using the probe light 54 having the wavelength range R4 shorter than the wavelength range R6 of the CARS light 55x generated only by the stokes light 51 and the pump light 52 in such a manner as to have a time difference from the emission of the pump light 52, TD-CARS 55 having the wavelength range R5 shorter than the wavelength range R6 of the CARS light 55x are generated. Therefore, no interference is generated between TD-CARS 55 and CARS 55x, and different TD-CARS 55 can be detected without interfering with the CARS light 55 x. The probe light 54 having a wavelength range shorter than the wavelength range R6 of the CARS light 55x generated only by the stokes light 51 and the pumping light 52 may be required to detect the time difference CARS (TD-CARS)55 generated by the stokes light 51, the pumping light 52, and the probe light 54.

Note that the above description does not mean that CARS light cannot be used as the scanning light 59 generated at the subject via the scanning module 11, and the scanning light 58 and the scanning light 59 may be used for CARS light, SRS (stimulated raman scattering), infrared light, or any light that can be used as long as the state of the subject can be captured as a signal and/or spectrum. The optical core module 10 may be a hybrid optical system comprising two detectors for TD-CARS and OCT or one detector split into one half for CARS and the other half for OCT to detect CARS signals and OCT with different spectral ranges.

Fig. 9 (a) shows an example of the manual delay stage 29, and fig. 9 (b) shows an example of the maneuver delay stage 29. The temporal overlap between probe light 54 and pump/stokes lights 51 and 52 can be controlled via a manual delay stage (+/-2.5mm) and/or a motorized delay stage (+/-2.5 mm). In the manual delay stage 29, a 1560nm collimator 29a is mounted on a manual delay stage 29 b. The motorized delay stage 29 includes a pair of collimators 29c and 29d, a delay stage 29e, and a motor 29f, each connected to the optical fiber. In the motorized optical delay stage 29, probe light 54 is delivered by routing the fiber input → collimator → free space → collimator → fiber output. The total travel range may be 10mm (33 ps).

Fig. 10 illustrates a temperature control module 70. In the optical plate 21, since a plurality of optical elements 30 are mounted on the optical plate 21, and a slight deviation in the positions of these elements and/or a slight change in the distance between them has a great influence on the optical performance of the optical plate 21, the optical plate 21 and the optical test stand 20 should be rigid, and the temperature of the optical plate 21 should be constant to avoid the influence of thermal expansion. Accordingly, the core optical module 10 includes a temperature control unit 70, and the temperature control unit 70 is configured to control the temperature of the optical plate 21 and/or the optical test stand 20.

One example of the temperature control unit 70 includes a heater controller module 71. The heater controller module 71 detects the temperature of the optical plate 21 and/or the environment of the optical plate 21 by the thermistor 79 attached to the optical plate 21 via the ADC 73, and controls the temperature of the optical plate 21 using the heater 78 via the FET 72. The heater controller 71 controls the temperature of the optical sheet 21 to be higher than the ambient temperature to maintain the temperature of the sheet 21 at a constant value. The heater 78 may have a heating capacity to maintain the temperature of the plate 21 up to 20C above an average ambient temperature (such as 25C) when the ambient temperature is lowest (such as 15C). The temperature control unit 70 may include a cooling unit such as a Peltier (Peltier) cooling unit or the like. If the optical plate includes an auto-tuning unit for compensating for deviations and/or distance variations, the temperature control unit may have a function of avoiding sudden changes in temperature and maintaining the temperature gradient within a predetermined range.

Fig. 11 is a conceptual configuration between the optical core module 10 and the non-invasive scanning module 11. In the optical core module 10, the stokes light 51, the pump light 52 and the probe light 54 are combined and delivered to the scanning module 11 via the light transfer unit 15 (optical fiber 15a or free space coupling 15b) as scanning light 58. In the scanning module 11, the scanning light 58 is irradiated onto the object (target, sample) 19 via the galvanometer 11g and the objective lens module 11 i. TD-CARS light 55 is generated by stokes light 51, pump light 52 and probe light 54 at the object 19, and reverse (Epi) TD-CARS light 55 returns to the optical core module 10 as scanning light 59 through the same route as scanning light 58. The scanning module 11 may include a second objective module 11f, which second objective module 11f is placed on the opposite side of the subject 19 to collect the forward TD-CARS light 55 f. The forward TD-CARS light 55f can be returned via the light transfer line 15 as the scanning light 59 using the same route as the scanning light 58.

In the optical core module 10, OCT light 53 is generated in a time-division manner for the stokes light 51, the pump light 52, and the probe light 54, and the OCT light 53 is delivered to the scanning module 11 using the same route as the lights 51, 52, and 54. That is, the OCT light 53 is delivered to the scanning module 11 as scanning light 58 via the light transmission unit 15 (the optical fiber 15a or the free space coupling 15 b). In the scanning module 11, the OCT light 53 (scanning light 58) shares the same galvanometer 11g and objective lens module 11i, and is emitted toward the object (target, sample) 19. Reflected light 62 from the subject 19 returns to the optical core module 10 as scanning light 59 by the same route as the scanning light 58.

Fig. 12 shows one embodiment of the arrangement of the plurality of optical elements 30 on the optical plate 21. The route from OCT engine 60 to mirror M1 through lens L1, mirror M2, lenses L6 and L7, mirrors M7 and M8 is optical path 36 for delivering OCT light 53 onto the object. In this example, mirrors M7 and M8 are selective mirrors between OCT light 53 and returned TD-CARS light 55. When the OCT light 53 is engaged, the mirrors M7 and M8 are moved to preset positions by motorized translation stages. Lenses L6 and L7 are beam expanders that adjust the OCT sample arm beam width to ensure that the proper NA is delivered to the subject. The OCT light 53 is passed through a galvanometer and a custom multi-element objective lens and then delivered onto the subject.

The route from the OCT engine 60 to the detector (spectrometer) 24 through the lens L2, the dichroic beam splitter (dichroic mirror) BS1, the lens L3, and the mirror M9 is a path 37 for OCT detection. The returned (reflected) OCT light 62 from the target (object) is combined or multiplexed with the reference light 61 to form an interference signal 63 and coupled into the spectrometer 24 through two lenses L2 and L3. In this example, the OCT interference signal 63 and the CARS light 55 share the same spectrometer 24, which provides the possibility of acquiring OCT and CARS simultaneously. However, if OCT and CARS overlap in wavelength, time division between OCT and CARS is required. The dichroic beamsplitter BS1 is transmissive at the OCT wavelength.

The optical paths 31, 32, and 34 are paths for delivering the pump light 52, the stokes light 51, and the probe light 54 onto a target (object sample). In this example, dichroic beamsplitter BS4 combines pump light 52 and stokes light 51, and dichroic beamsplitter BS3 combines probe light 54 with pump light 52 and stokes light 51. A short pass filter (SP filter) along the probe path 34 filters out the remaining 1560nm signal and a long pass filter (LP filter) along the stokes path 31 removes lower wavelengths outside the region of interest. After the mirror M1, the light beams are combined and delivered through the transmission unit 15.

The optical path 35 is a path for detecting reverse CARS (TD-CARS) 55. In this example, mirror M6 for selecting forward CARS light 55 collection and mirrors M7 and M8 for selecting OCT light 53 and 63 are moved out of the motorized stage. The detected CARS signal 55 is reflected by the dichroic beam splitters BS1, BS2 and BS3 for collection. The use of a dichroic beam splitter BS1 enables a single spectrometer for both CARS and OCT detection. Lenses L4 and L5 contain beam expanders to ensure proper collection NA for spectrometer 24. A short pass filter (SP filter) on this path 35 ensures that the spectrometer 24 collects only the wavelengths of interest.

The optical path 35a as a part of the path 35 is a path for detecting the forward CARS 55 f. In this example, mirror M6 is moved into position for selective forward CARS light 55f collection by the motorized stage. The detected CARS signal 55 or 55f is reflected by the dichroic beam splitter BS1 for collection. Lenses L4 and L5 contain beam expanders to ensure proper collection NA for spectrometer 24. The short pass filter (SP filter) ensures that the spectrometer 24 collects only the wavelengths of interest.

In this system 1, the core optics module 10 and one of the scanning interface modules 11 to 14 may be arranged separately, may be stacked, and may be arranged in parallel within the distance of the fiber-optic connectable core optics module 10 and scanning interface modules 11 to 14. By providing a highly versatile, common and versatile core optics module 10, an optimal scan interface module can be easily developed for each application, which is easily customizable, low cost, and capable of supplying a system 1 suitable for measurement, research, monitoring and/or self-care in various fields.

In this specification, a system is disclosed that includes a core optics module and a scanning interface module. The core optics module is configured to generate light for generating a signal for searching for a target and to receive the signal from the target. The scan interface module is separate from the core optical module, but connected to the core optical module via fiber optics or free space coupling. The scan interface module may vary for each application. The scanning interface module is configured to scan a target with transmitted light from the core optical module to generate a signal and receive the signal from the target to transmit the signal to the core optical module via an optical fiber or free space coupling. The scan interface module may be a minimally invasive sampler, a non-invasive sampler, or a flow sampler. The scan interface module may vary for applications such as fingertip scanning and urine scanning for measuring glucose, hemoglobin A1c, creatinine, and albumin, among others.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.