Design, fabrication, and preclinical testing of a miniaturized, multispectral, chip-on-tip, imaging probe for intraluminal fluorescence imaging of the gastrointestinal tract

Abstract

As gastrointestinal cancers continue to cause a disproportionately large percentage of annual cancer deaths in the US, advancements in miniature imaging technology combined with a need for precise and thorough tumor detection in gastrointestinal cancer screenings fuel the demand for new, small-scale, and low-cost methods of localization and margin detection with improved accuracy. A miniaturized, chip-on-tip, multispectral, fluorescence imaging probe designed to port through a gastroscope working channel has been developed for detection of cancerous lesions in the gut lumen in point of care gastrointestinal endoscopy. Preclinical testing has confirmed fluorescence sensitivity and supports that this miniature probe can locate structures of interest via detection of fluorescence emission from exogenous contrast agents. This work demonstrates the design and preliminary performance evaluation of a miniaturized, single-use, chip-on-tip fluorescence imaging system devised for deployment via the accessory channel of a standard gastroscope.