Infrared (IR) spectroscopic imaging is an emerging modality for biological tissue analysis that has traditionally employed an interferometer for spectral discrimination. Recent technology developments have made discrete frequency sources, both lasers and filters, practical for imaging. The use of quantum cascade lasers in particular, presents new opportunities as well as challenges. Here we describe results from a novel point scanning confocal IR microscope and demonstrate the performance imaging several important spectral bands of lung tissue. Results show the possibility of discrete frequency (DF) absorbance measurements with RMS noise levels down to 0.34 mAU in 0.25 ms.

Date Published: 7 March 2016
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 9704, Biomedical Vibrational Spectroscopy 2016: Advances in Research and Industry, 970406 (7 March 2016); doi: 10.1117/12.2230003

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9704:
Biomedical Vibrational Spectroscopy 2016: Advances in Research and Industry
Anita Mahadevan-Jansen; Wolfgang Petrich, Editor(s)