Applications of Lens Fiber in Spectral Diagnosis

The lens fiber is an ideal choice for fluorescence spectroscopy combined with external blood analysis. They allow scientists or clinicians to illuminate a blood sample at a specified wavelength and collect the fluorescence emitted in response to the excitation caused by the incident light. The emitted fluorescence is directly related to the composition of the target, enabling scientists or clinicians to identify specific diseases or conditions. This article will delve into the important role of lens fibers in spectral diagnosis.

Basic Knowledge

Lens fiber such as tapered lensed fiber is a versatile, low-cost solution. Compared to other types of instruments, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy has many advantages. Utilizing sun-resistant fibers and infrared fibers, the fiber can achieve a  185 to 2.5 μm wide wavelength range. It saves a lot of space and weight by offsetting the light source and detector (monochromator or spectrometer). In addition, users can isolate and stabilize electronic systems sensitive to environmental parameters (such as radiation or hot and cold temperatures), including laser sources and spectrometers.

Working Principle

Lens fiber by our lensed fiber manufacturers can be used to analyze multiple blood samples simultaneously to provide rapid and accurate feature-based measurements for major chronic diseases. This technology has been routinely used in clinical laboratories to screen for protein abnormalities in patients' blood. In the case of bundled probes, the fiber optic assembly can consist of fibers arranged linearly, circularly, or in a matrix at one end and a fan-out of several individual fibers at the other end. Each fiber branch brings a specific wavelength paired with a specific reagent.

Advantages in Spectral Diagnosis

• High coupling efficiency: Lens fibers have high coupling efficiency, enabling efficient coupling of light beams into the spectrometer, thereby increasing the sensitivity and accuracy of spectral diagnosis.

• Compact structure: Lens fibers are small in size, lightweight, and compact in structure, making spectral diagnosis feasible in confined spaces.

• Ease of operation: Lens fibers are easy and reliable to use, requiring no complex debugging or calibration process, reducing operational difficulty and cost.

Breast Cancer Detection

X-ray or ultrasound exams cannot clearly show whether cancer cells are present in a lump. Therefore, in practice, it is necessary to perform percutaneous tissue sampling for in situ cell analysis. This invasive surgery is usually painful for patients. An innovative medical probe made of lens fiber can be used for real-time in vivo studies using fluorescence spectroscopy. This method is not only more comfortable for the patient but also much faster than collecting and analyzing biopsy results.

The lensed fiber array offers excellent tissue penetration power. It can pass through the skin without prior incision. It illuminates the cells with a laser. By observing how the illuminated tissue scatters light, experts can immediately confirm and refine the diagnosis of suspicious lesions. While this technology is not intended to completely eliminate biopsies, it is likely to significantly reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies in medical practice.