Multifunction medical endoscope system with optical fiber temperature sensor

Thermal therapy (or hyperthermia) is one of the effective operations for tumor treating and curing. As tumor tissues are more susceptible to heat than normal tissues, in thermal therapy operations, temperature on operation area is a crucial parameter for optimal treating. When the temperature is too low, the tumor tissues cannot be killed; otherwise, the temperature is too high, the operation may damage normal tissues around the tumor. During thermal therapy operation, the heating power is normally supplied by high-frequency EM field, so traditional temperature sensors, such as thermal couples, thermistors, cannot work stably due to EM interference. We present a multi-function endoscope optical fiber temperature sensor system. With this sensor setup based on principle of fluorescence life time, the temperature on operation point is detected in real time. Furthermore, a build-in endoscope centers in the fiber sensor, thus the operation area can be viewed or imaged directly during the operation. This design can navigate the operation, particularly for in vivo operations. The temperature range of the sensor system is 30°C-150°C, the accuracy can achieve to 0.2°C. The imaging fiber buddle is constituted of more than 50k fibers. As the sensor probe is very thin (around 4 mm in diameter), it can also be assembled inside the radiofrequency operation knife. With the presented sensor system in clinic operation physicians can check the temperature in the operation point and view the operation area at the same time.