血管内光学相干层析成像(IVOCT)对于心血管疾病的早期诊断具有重要意义。成像探头是IVOCT系统的核心器件。设计了一种基于微型螺旋桨驱动的IVOCT探头,该探头未使用传统内窥探头中为光束扫描提供动力的微型电机等电动装置,而是利用IVOCT系统成像时冲刷血液的流体驱动安装在探头末端的螺旋桨,从而带动安装在螺旋桨转轴上的直角棱镜旋转,实现光束对血管壁的扫描成像。对螺旋桨进行优化设计,提高了流体的驱动效率。探头外径为1.5 mm,探头扫描速度最高可达491 r/s。利用集成该探头的IVOCT系统对白胶带样品、小葱葱管以及离体鸡心脏动脉血管样品进行成像,获得了清晰的样品层析图像,验证了该探头的成像能力。

Intravascular optical coherence tomography (IVOCT) is of great significance for early diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases and imaging probes are the core components of IVOCT systems. For this purpose, an IVOCT probe driven by a miniature propeller was proposed in this paper. Instead of using electric devices such as micromotors that provided power for beam scanning in traditional endoscopic probes, the probe utilized the kinetic energy of the fluid that flushed away the blood in the imaging of the IVOCT system to drive the propeller installed at the probe end, thereby driving the right-angle prism on the propeller shaft to rotate and realizing the scanning imaging of beams for the vessel walls. Moreover, we improved the driving efficiency of fluid by optimizing the design of the propeller. For the probe, the outer diameter is 1.5 mm and the highest scanning speed can reach 491 r/s. Finally, the imaging ability of the IVOCT system integrating the probe was well verified by the clear tomographic images of the samples like white tapes, green onion tubes, and in vitro artery vessels of chicken hearts.