Multispectral imaging for medical diagnostics

We report the development of a multispectral imaging (MSI) device for medical diagnostic applications. The MSI device uses an acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) for wavelength selection and a two-dimensional charge-coupled device (CCD) for detection. Unlike a tunable grating or prism-based monochromator, the tunable filter has no moving parts, and can be rapidly tuned to any wavelength within its operating range. The large aperture of the AOTF and its high spatial resolution allows the optical image from an imaging fiber optic probe (IFP) to be recorded by the CCD. These characteristics, combined with their small size, make AOTFs important new alternatives to conventional monochromators, especially for spectral imaging in biomedical applications. Several applications of biomedical interest (fluorescence imaging, brain tissue imaging, etc.) are described to illustrate the usefulness of the MSI system.