Development of raspberry Pi single-board computer architecture based ultra-compact optical coherence tomography

Abstract The main goal of this study is to develop an ultra-compact optical coherence tomography (OCT) system operated by a single-board computer to enhance its on-field applicability with superior user-friendliness and minimized system complexity. The conceptual breakthrough of this demonstration is the development of an OCT using a simple Raspberry Pi single-board computer architecture (RB-OCT) that works in a similar manner as the conventional OCT systems. The unique feature of the developed all-in-one RB-OCT system is the versatile ultra-compactness, comprising all key components of an OCT system. To further enhance the miniaturization, the micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) scanning unit, the entire optical configuration, and signal generating amplifier circuits were custom made to be compatible with Raspberry Pi single-board computer architecture. The dimensions of the developed system are 228 mm width, 168 mm length, and 107 mm depth with an approximate weight of 2 kg, including an image display. The software interface was developed using C++ based on Debian OS and configured using parallel programming with multi-threading. In vivo skin, ex vivo mouse cochlea, and fresh onion peels were used to evaluate the performance of the proposed system. Based on the feasibility study, this new type of single-board architecture OCT has potential merits over conventional OCT systems to be applied as a primary imaging device in various fields.