Excitation-Scanning Hyperspectral Video Endoscopy: Enhancing The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Colorectal cancer is the 3r d leading cancer for incidence and mortality rates. Positive treatment outcomes have been associated with early detection; however, early stage lesions have limited contrast to surrounding mucosa. A potential technology to enhance early stagise detection is hyperspectral imaging (HSI). While HSI technologies have been previously utilized to detect colorectal cancer ex vivo or post-operation, they have been difficult to employ in real-time endoscopy scenarios. Here, we describe an LED-based multifurcated light guide and spectral light source that can provide illumination for spectral imaging at frame rates necessary for video-rate endoscopy. We also present an updated light source optical ray-tracing model that resulted in further optimization and provided a similar to 10X light transmission increase compared to the initial prototype. Future work will iterate simulation and benchtop testing of the hyperspectral endoscopic system to achieve the goal of video-rate spectral endoscopy. (C) 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement