Real-time swept source optical coherence tomography imaging of the human airway using a microelectromechanical system endoscope and digital signal processor.

A fast-scan-rate swept laser for optical coherence tomography (OCT) is suitable to record and analyze a 3-D image volume. However, the whole OCT system speed is limited by data streaming, processing, and storage. In this case, postprocessing is a common technique. Endoscopic clinical applications prefer onsite diagnosis, which requires a real-time technique. Parallel digital signal processors were applied to stream and process data directly from a data digitizer. A real-time system with 20-kHz axial line speed, which was limited only by our swept laser scan rate, was implemented. To couple with the system speed, an endoscope based on an improved 3-D microelectromechanical motor (diameter 1.5 mm, length 9.4 mm) was developed. In vivo 3-D imaging of the human airway was demonstrated.