In-fibre Bragg gratings for ultrasonic medical applications

Abstract

We investigate the feasibility of using in-fibre Bragg gratings to measure ultrasonic fields for medical applications. Two signal processing schemes for interrogating the gratings are described. Preliminary results for each scheme (one a homodyne approach, the other a heterodyne one) give noise-limited pressure resolutions of and atm respectively, each within a 1 Hz bandwidth. The second scheme, however, gives a more stable response.

Research Activities Arising From the University of Kent

“…We were instrumental in developing interrogation and multiplexing techniques for such devices [5][6][7][8][9], and exploring their applications. Medical sensing was a significant area of activity, and we studied the use of gratings for ultrasound detection [10], thermodilution flow measurements [11] and undertook the first in-vivo sensing experiments with FBGs [12].…”

Acousto-Ultrasonic Optical Fiber Sensors: Overview and State-of-the-Art

“…This work, and further work [88], looked at FBGs for the sensing of ultrasonic fields for medical applications. Specifically, the use of the sensors was for distributed in vivo sensing of ultrasound.…”

Sagnac-type fiber-optic array sensor for detection of bulk ultrasonic waves

“…A number of researchers have also developed fiber optic sensors that are capable of detecting dynamic (high frequency) phenomena such as ultrasonic fields in a liquid [2], [3] or inside a solid structure [4], [5]. Fiber-optic ultrasound sensors have potential applications in smart structure technology [6], composite materials [7], materials processing industry [8], and medicine [9]. The authors have presented intrinsic fiber-optic Fabry-Perot [10] and Sagnac [11] ultrasound sensors previously.…”