An optical fiber confocal microscopic endoscopy imaging device and method

Abstract

The present invention discloses an optical fiber confocal microscopic endoscopy imaging device and method, comprising: a light source module for providing an illumination beam; a beam splitter for separating the illumination and signal beams; a collimating microlens array for converging the illumination sub-beams and collimating the signal sub-beams; an optical fiber array for transmitting the illumination and signal sub-beams; an imaging microlens array for converging the illumination sub-beams onto the sample to be detected and receiving the signal sub-beams from the illuminated area; a scanning module for controlling three-dimensional scanning at the imaging end; a detection module for guiding the signal sub-beams into a detector; and a control unit for sending control commands and acquiring signals, and processing and displaying the sample image. The method and device are characterized in that each group of collimating and imaging microlenses are respectively integrated on two end faces of a single optical fiber; and a single optical fiber corresponds to an independent imaging channel. The device and method have great application prospects in handheld or in-vivo confocal microscopy imaging of small animals.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of fiber optic microscopic endoscopy imaging, and particularly relates to a fiber optic microscopic endoscopy imaging device and method with a confocal microscopic imaging mode. Background Art

[0002] Due to the characteristics of compact structure and flexible light transmission of optical fibers, microscopic imaging methods using optical fibers as the optical path carrier contribute to the miniaturization of optical microscopes, can be directly combined with existing endoscopes, and have promoted the continuous development of handheld optical microscopic imaging devices, in-vivo imaging devices for small animals, portable optical imaging devices, endoscope devices for clinical diagnosis and minimally invasive surgery, etc.

[0003] Since Wilson and Benschop first built a confocal scanning microscopic imaging system with a single-mode optical fiber as the signal receiving pinhole in 1991, the concept of fiber optic microscopic endoscopes has gradually taken shape. Through years of technological development, the types of optical signals that can be detected by fiber optic microscopic endoscopy technology are mainly backscattered illumination light, single-photon excited fluorescence, two-photon excited fluorescence, etc. The types of optical fibers used are mainly single-mode optical fibers, fiber optic image bundles, multimode optical fibers, and double-clad optical fibers. The optical microscopic imaging technologies adopted are mainly confocal microscopy technology, two-photon microscopy technology, and optical coherence tomography technology, etc. However, limited by factors such as the size, performance, and cost determined by the optical fiber, scanning mechanism, and microscopic imaging objective lens, fiber optic microscopic endoscopes need to be further developed in terms of miniaturization of the imaging probe, improvement of imaging speed, and spatio-temporal resolution.

[0004] For the confocal microscopy imaging mode, the fiber optic microendoscope mainly uses a fiber optic image bundle and a single-mode fiber as the optical path carriers. When the imaging probe is composed of a fiber optic image bundle and a microscopic imaging objective lens, the fiber optic microendoscope mainly obtains confocal microscopic images through external probe scanning methods such as a combination of two galvanometric mirrors, a combination of a single galvanometric mirror and a cylindrical lens, a digital microlens array, or spatial light modulator projection. This method is conducive to the miniaturization of the imaging probe, but the spatial resolution is limited by the core diameter of a single fiber in the fiber optic image bundle, and the signal-to-noise ratio is easily limited by the signal crosstalk between fibers. When the imaging probe is composed of a single-mode fiber, a microscopic imaging objective lens, and a scanning mechanism, the fiber optic microendoscope mainly obtains confocal microscopic images through internal probe scanning methods such as MEMS, fiber resonance, and microscopic imaging objective lens scanning. This method is conducive to achieving high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio, but the size of the imaging probe is affected by the scanning method, and the structure of the microscopic imaging objective lens is complex. In addition, the existing fiber optic microendoscopes generally adopt a point-to-point or line-to-line scanning imaging method, so their imaging speed is generally slow. Patent CN201922464826.4 describes a confocal endoscope system based on a microlens array and a pinhole array. This system uses a microlens array and a pinhole array turntable to achieve multi-channel parallel illumination, and constructs an imaging probe with a fiber optic image bundle and a microscopic imaging objective lens, which can improve the imaging speed of the fiber optic microendoscope. However, the spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio of this system are still restricted by the parameters and performance of the fiber optic image bundle. Patent CN202010591075.7 discloses a beam multiplexing confocal imaging device and imaging method, which proposes to use a fiber optic bundle to control multiple sub-beams to achieve multi-spot illumination and detection. This method images the end face of the fiber optic bundle through a microscopic imaging objective lens inside the sample to be measured, forming a multi-spot parallel confocal imaging mode, and can improve the imaging speed through multi-spot parallel scanning. However, if this method is directly used for a fiber optic microendoscope, the miniaturization of the imaging probe is still limited.

[0005] In summary, the fiber optic microendoscope has very obvious advantages in some special imaging environments, but the above-mentioned related technologies still have problems such as slow imaging speed, low spatial resolution, and complex structure of the imaging microscopic objective lens. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a fiber optic confocal microscopic endoscopy imaging device and method in view of the deficiencies of the prior art. The present invention simplifies the structure of the imaging microscopic objective lens by miniaturizing the imaging lens, so that the structure of the imaging probe is compact and miniaturized, uses a single-mode fiber array to construct multiple independent imaging channels to improve the imaging speed, and forms an independent confocal microscopic imaging channel by combining a single imaging microlens, a single collimating microlens, and a single fiber, realizing high resolution of the parallel imaging channels.

[0007] The object of the present invention can be achieved by the following technical solutions: An optical fiber confocal microscopy endoscope imaging device mainly includes the following key components: a light source module, a beam splitter, a collimating microlens array, an optical fiber array, an imaging microlens array, a scanning module, a detection module, and a control unit. Among them:

[0008] The light source module is used to provide at least one multi-color illumination beam that has been expanded and collimated, which can make the present invention better applicable to a variety of samples to be detected or different optical characteristics of the same sample to be detected in terms of imaging principle, and realize the confocal microscopy imaging mode for obtaining multiple fluorescence dye-labeled signals or multiple non-fluorescent labeled signals, so as to more comprehensively study or observe the sample to be measured.

[0009] The beam splitter is used to separate the illumination beam from the light source module and N independent signal sub-beams from the optical fiber array, that is, the transmitted illumination beam and the reflected signal beam, and can select energy beam splitting or spectral beam splitting according to the characteristics of the measurement signal. For monochromatic signals with non-fluorescent labels, the energy beam splitting mode is preferably used; for multi-color signals with non-fluorescent labels, the spectral beam splitting mode is preferably used; for fluorescent-labeled signals, the spectral beam splitting mode is preferably used. Among them, N is an integer greater than or equal to 4.

[0010] The collimating microlens array is used to converge the illumination beams passing through the beam splitter into each single optical fiber respectively, forming multiple independent illumination sub-beams for transmission to the sample end, and is also used to collimate the multiple independent signal sub-beams transmitted by the output optical fiber array. Each microlens of the collimating microlens array is fixed in the core area of the corresponding end face of each single optical fiber through an opaque cylindrical support thin layer, and the diameter of the entire collimating microlens structure is smaller than the diameter of a single optical fiber. From the perspective of improving energy utilization efficiency, according to the diameter and numerical aperture of a single optical fiber at the end face 1 of the optical fiber array (near the light source side), a collimating anastigmatic lens with a large aperture is preferably used to improve the filling rate of the collimating microlens array, realize high utilization efficiency of the energy of the multi-color illumination beam, and at the same time isolate the collimated output signal light of adjacent channels to avoid interference between adjacent signal light channels.

[0011] The fiber optic array is used to transmit multiple independent illumination sub - beams and multiple independent signal sub - beams. From the perspective of improving the imaging spatial resolution and miniaturizing the imaging probe, the fiber optic array is preferably composed of single - mode fibers with a small optical field mode radius and a small core diameter. The single - mode fiber array can avoid the optical signal coupling between adjacent fibers that commonly exists in fiber optic image bundles, so as to obtain a better signal - to - noise ratio. Both end faces of the fiber optic array are fixed by thin sleeves, which is convenient for installation on the adjustment bracket of the external optical path and the scanning mechanism inside the imaging probe. In terms of the imaging principle, if at the end face 2 (near the sample side) of the fiber optic array, while maintaining the single - mode transmission of each fiber, the cladding of each single - mode fiber is thinned by means such as chemical etching, arc ablation, or mechanical grinding, it can ensure the miniaturization of the imaging probe corresponding to the present invention. At the same time, increasing the number of single - mode fibers constituting the fiber optic array is beneficial for the present invention to increase more independent imaging channels and further improve the imaging speed. On the other hand, thinning the cladding of the single - mode fiber can reduce the scanning imaging sub - region between adjacent fibers, which is beneficial for reducing the scanning range of each illumination sub - beam and facilitating the miniaturization of the scanning mechanism.

[0012] The imaging microlens array is used to guide the independent illumination sub - beams output by the fiber optic array to converge onto or into the sample to be detected respectively, forming an illumination sub - spot array, and receiving each independent signal sub - beam from the illuminated area of the sample. Each imaging microlens of the imaging microlens array is designed to eliminate aberrations according to the mode distribution, mode radius, and core radius of the single - mode fiber, the illumination light wavelength, and the signal light wavelength, so that the core of the single - mode fiber corresponds one - to - one with the illumination sub - spot on the sample to be detected, realizing a confocal imaging mode similar to point - to - point. The imaging microlenses are respectively fixed on the end face 2 (near the sample side) of the corresponding each fiber through opaque cylindrical support thin layers, and the diameter of the entire imaging microlens structure is smaller than the diameter of a single fiber at the corresponding end face. In terms of the imaging principle, if the imaging microlens array ensures that all the cores at the end face 2 of the fiber optic array are conjugate with the illumination sub - spot array in the sample to be detected, the basic idea of the present invention has been realized, which better ensures that each single fiber corresponds to an independent confocal microscopy imaging channel, thereby obtaining a higher spatial resolution and a better signal - to - noise ratio.

[0013] The scanning module is used to control the scanning of the fiber optic array on the end face 2, and guide the illumination sub-spot array to perform three-dimensional scanning movement on the sample to be detected. The scanning module receives the scanning instructions input by the control platform, and drives the end face 2 of the fiber optic array fixed on its moving part to move three-dimensionally within the imaging probe, so as to realize the synchronous movement or deflection of the independent imaging channels corresponding to each optical fiber. In principle, the overall synchronous scanning movement of the end face 2 of the fiber optic array can ensure that each independent imaging channel obtains sub-region images with consistent spatial resolution. According to the scanning timing, the sub-region images are easily stitched into a high-quality large field-of-view image of the sample, effectively avoiding the image quality differences between the single-spot or multi-spot scanning imaging in the conventional single microscopic imaging objective lens in the central scanning region and the edge region. Moreover, the stitching of the sub-region images only depends on the positioning accuracy of the scanning module, avoiding the requirement that the connection points must have the same light intensity in the conventional sub-region image stitching method, and effectively avoiding the pseudo-structures introduced by the conventional image stitching.

[0014] The detection module is used to reflect each independent signal sub-beam output by the fiber optic array into the detector array through a beam splitter, and detect the signal light from the sample carried by each independent sub-beam. According to whether the signal light is fluorescence or multi-color backscattered light, the detection module needs to be configured with pluggable filtering optical elements to effectively separate the illumination light of different colors and the fluorescence signals of different spectral bands; according to the numerical aperture of the pigtail carried by each independent detector or the area of each detection unit in the array detection, a telescopic optical system is required to expand the collimated signal sub-beams output from the end face 1 of the fiber optic array after beam splitting and reflection, and couple each independent signal sub-beam into the corresponding detector and detection unit through a microlens array. For the detector with a pigtail, the microlens array is fixed on the signal input end face of the pigtail. The detection module adopts an APD or PMT array with single-photon detection ability, which can perform fluorescence lifetime imaging on the sample to be detected, so that the device of the present invention also has time resolution ability.

[0015] The control unit is used to send scanning control commands to the scanning module, collect the electrical signals output by the detection module, and stitch the sub-region image information obtained by the illumination sub-spot array in the scanning area of the sample to be detected, and display the large field-of-view sample image information. The control unit is respectively connected to the scanning module, the detection module and the light source module through wire connectors, and can perform remote control and data collection.

[0016] Using the above imaging device, a fiber confocal microscopic endoscopy imaging method is provided. A light source module provides at least one multi-color illumination beam, which is directed to a fiber array by a beam splitter; a collimating microlens array focuses the multi-color illumination beams into the fiber array respectively; an imaging microlens array simultaneously images the multiple illumination sub-beams output from the fiber array onto the surface or inside of the sample, forming an illumination sub-spot array conjugated to each fiber core; an imaging microlens array receives the backscattering or fluorescence signals from the illuminated dot matrix area on the surface or inside of the sample, couples them into the fiber array and outputs them to the end face 1 of the fiber array; a collimating microlens array collimates the output independent signal sub-beams, and guides them into a detection module through a beam splitter; the detection module guides the independent signal sub-beams into corresponding independent detectors or detector areas respectively; a scanning module makes the fiber array perform three-dimensional scanning movement at end face 2, and parallelly acquires the image information of each sub-region on the surface or inside of the sample; a control unit sends a scanning command to the scanning module, collects the electrical signals output by the detection module, and stitches the image information of each sub-region to display the sample image with a large field of view.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0018] 1) The collimating lenses and imaging lenses connected to the optical paths by fibers are miniaturized and fixed on the fiber end faces, which can make the optical path structure of the device more compact and facilitate the miniaturization of the imaging probe;

[0019] 2) It has multiple independent confocal microscopic imaging channels, which can improve the imaging speed and ensure the consistency of the image quality of each sub-region;

[0020] 3) Each single fiber corresponds to an independent confocal microscopic imaging channel, which can maintain high temporal and spatial resolutions throughout the imaging range. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a collimating microlens array, a fiber array and an imaging microlens array;

[0023] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of multiple illumination beams;

[0024] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of multiple signal beams;

[0025] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement structure of the end face of the fiber array;

[0026] In the figure, there are a light source module 1, a beam splitter 2, a collimating microlens array 3, an optical fiber array 4, an imaging microlens array 5, a sample 6, a scanning module 7, a detection module 8, a control unit 9, an illumination light beam 11, independent illumination sub-beams 21 - 25, independent illumination sub-spots 31 - 35, independent signal sub-beams 41 - 45, a detector array 51 - 55, a wire connector 61, a wire connector 62, and a wire connector 63. Specific embodiments

[0027] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. This embodiment is implemented on the premise of the technical solution of the present invention, and gives detailed implementation manners and specific operation processes, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0028] The basic principle of imaging by the device of the present invention is laser scanning confocal microscopy. The optical structure layout of the fiber optic microscopic endoscope imaging device is designed to use an optical fiber array to generate a parallel confocal microscopy imaging mode. The key is to efficiently couple a multi-color illumination light beam into each single-mode optical fiber of the optical fiber array, so that each single-mode optical fiber corresponds to an independent confocal microscopy imaging channel, and miniaturize the imaging probe composed of the optical fiber array and the scanning module.

[0029] For a fiber optic confocal microscopic endoscope imaging method of the present invention, in order to ensure that the illumination light beam 11 provided by the light source module 1 is efficiently coupled into the optical fiber array 4, the aberration-corrected collimating microlens array 3 is directly fixed on the end face 1 of the optical fiber array 4. On the one hand, it can simplify the optical path structure, and on the other hand, it can realize the equal light intensity spatial beam splitting function of the illumination light required by the present invention. The optical fiber array 4 is composed of preferred single-mode optical fibers, which provides a high-quality illumination light beam to obtain high-quality illumination light spots in the sample and effectively filter the background noise from the area near the illuminated point of the sample, and can also prevent crosstalk when multiplexed signal lights are transmitted from the port 2 of the optical fiber array 4 to the port 1 of the optical fiber array 4. For the method of the present invention to ensure that each single optical fiber corresponds to an independent confocal microscopy imaging channel, the aberration-corrected imaging microlens array 5 is fixed on the end face 2 of the optical fiber array 4, which can guide the illumination light beam output from each single optical fiber in the optical fiber array to converge and illuminate different spatial positions of the sample, constituting a parallel confocal microscopy imaging mode. In addition, the miniaturization of the imaging lens fixed on the optical fiber end face in the method of the present invention helps to miniaturize the imaging probe and ensures that each imaging channel has a relatively consistent high spatial resolution throughout the imaging range. In particular, in the method of the present invention, the detection module 8 uses a PMT or APD array detector with single-photon detection function, and each imaging channel also has time resolution ability.

[0030] As Figure 1 shown, a fiber optic confocal microscopic endoscope imaging device in this embodiment includes: a light source module 1, a beam splitter 2, an optical fiber array 4, a scanning module 7, a detection module 8, and a control unit 9.

[0031] The light source module 1 is used to provide at least one multi-color illumination beam 11 that has been beam-expanded and collimated. Specifically, it combines multi-color laser beams with different wavelengths emitted from one or more lasers through a beam-combining optical path structure composed of a dichroic mirror and a reflector to synthesize at least one multi-color illumination beam from multi-color illumination beams in different wavelength ranges, and can provide a confocal microscopy imaging mode for non-fluorescent or fluorescent labeling of different samples. It includes a beam expander composed of a telescopic system to adjust the diameter of the collimated parallel beam output by the illumination light source. On the one hand, it ensures that the illumination beam 11 can cover the end face 1 of the fiber array 4, and on the other hand, it facilitates the switching of the beam splitter 2.

[0032] The beam splitter 2 is used to separate the illumination beam 11 and multiple independent signal sub-beams 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, and can select energy or spectral beam splitting according to the characteristics of the measurement signal. Energy beam splitting uses a beam splitting prism or a beam splitting film; spectral beam splitting uses a dichroic mirror. In particular, the beam splitter 2 can be switched according to the fluorescent and non-fluorescent imaging modes.

[0033] Such as Figure 2 , the collimating microlens array 3 is used to converge the illumination beam 11 into each single fiber to form multiple independent illumination sub-beams 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 ( Figure 3 ) and collimate multiple independent output signal sub-beams 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 from the sample ( Figure 4 ). An aberration-corrected collimating microlens is designed using design software according to the wavelength bands of the illumination light and the signal light, the diameter of a single fiber, the mode radius of a single fiber, and the numerical aperture. In particular, in order to simplify the structure of the collimating microlens and reduce the manufacturing requirements, the aberration-corrected collimating microlens adopts an aspherical design; in order to improve the energy utilization rate of the illumination beam 11, the aberration-corrected collimating microlens adopts a large-aperture design. Through laser direct writing technology, each single collimating lens of the collimating microlens array 3 is fixed to the corresponding end face of each single-mode fiber by an opaque micro-cylindrical support thin layer, and the outer diameter of the collimating lens is smaller than the outer diameter of the single-mode fiber.

[0034] The fiber array 4 is used to transmit multiple independent illumination sub-beams 21 - 25 and multiple independent signal sub-beams 41 - 45. The fiber array 4 is composed of single-mode fibers with a small light field mode radius and a small fiber core, and can provide high-quality illumination or laser sub-spots 31 - 35 formed by the illumination sub-beams 21 - 25 in the sample 6, and more effectively filter the background noise from the area near the illuminated point of the sample. The two end faces of the fiber array are arranged according to Figure 5One of the square, rectangular, circular or hexagonal patterns shown is arranged and fixed by a thin sleeve, which can facilitate the adjustment of the end face of the fiber optic array in the optical path and cooperate with the scanning method to form a sample image with a large field of view. In particular, the cladding of each single-mode fiber at the end face 2 of the fiber optic array 4 is thinned by chemical etching, arc ablation or mechanical grinding, etc., and the minimum cladding thickness is controlled to ensure that each fiber still outputs in single mode.

[0035] The imaging microlens array 5 is used to guide the independent illumination sub-beams 21-25 output by the fiber optic array 4 to converge onto the sample to be detected or within the sample 6 respectively, forming illumination sub-spots 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 and receiving the signal sub-beams 41-45 from the illuminated area of the sample 6. Combining the confocal microscopy imaging theory based on single-mode fibers, an aberration-corrected imaging microlens is designed using design software according to the illumination light and signal light wavelengths, the diameter of a single fiber, the mode radius of a single fiber and the numerical aperture. In particular, in order to simplify the structure of the imaging microlens and reduce the manufacturing requirements, the aberration-corrected imaging microlens adopts an aspherical design or a combination design of a spherical surface and an aspherical surface; in order to obtain a confocal imaging mode at a high numerical aperture, the aberration-corrected imaging microlens design only corrects the aberration for a small field of view determined by the transmission mode diameter of the single-mode fiber; in order to effectively isolate the signal light from the adjacent illumination spot areas, the structural length and working distance of the aberration-corrected imaging microlens need to be reasonably selected. Through the laser direct writing technique, a single imaging microlens of the imaging microlens array 5 is fixed to the end face of each corresponding single-mode fiber by an opaque micro-cylindrical support thin layer, and the outer diameter of the imaging microlens is smaller than the outer diameter of the single-mode fiber.

[0036] The scanning module 7 is used to control the scanning of the fiber optic array 4 on the end face 2, guiding the illumination sub-spots 31-35 to perform three-dimensional scanning movement on the sample 6. The scanning module is connected to the control unit 9 through a wire connector 61 to achieve external communication control; the end face 2 of the fiber optic array 4 is fixed on the moving part of the scanning module 7, together forming an imaging probe; the scanning module 7 controls the synchronous movement or deflection of the independent imaging channels corresponding to each single-mode fiber.

[0037] The detection module 8 is used to respectively introduce the independent signal sub-beams 41-45 output by the fiber optic array 4 into the detector arrays 51, 52, 53, 54, 55 to detect the signal light from the sample carried by the sub-beams 41-45. According to whether the signal light is fluorescence or multi-color backscattered light, the detection module 8 is configured with a pluggable filtering optical element to effectively separate the multi-color illumination light and the fluorescence signals in different spectral bands; according to the numerical aperture of the pigtail carried by each independent detector or the area of each detection unit in the array detection, the detection module 8 is configured with a telescopic optical system to expand the collimated signal sub-beams 41-45 output from the end face 1 of the fiber optic array 4, and the independent signal sub-beams 41-45 in each path are coupled into the corresponding detector arrays 51-55 through the micro-lens array configured by the detection module 8. For the detector with a pigtail, the micro-lens array also adopts an aspherical design, and a single micro-lens is fixed on the signal input end face of a single pigtail through laser direct writing. The detector module 8 uses a PMT or APD array detector with single-photon detection ability, and combined with photon counting, fluorescence lifetime imaging of the sample 6 can be performed. The detector module 8 is connected to the control unit 9 through a wire connector 62 to achieve data acquisition and transmission functions.

[0038] The control unit 9 is used to send a scanning control command to the scanning module 7, collect the electrical signals output by the detection module 8, and splice the sub-region image information obtained by the illumination spot in the sample scanning area to display the sample image information with a large field of view. The control unit 9 specifically includes a computer, a data acquisition card, a scanning control card, and a scanner drive power supply. The control unit 9 is connected to the light source module 1 through a wire connector 63 to achieve the control of the output energy or wavelength of the laser.

Claims

1. An optical fiber confocal microscopic endoscopy imaging device, characterized in that, it includes: a light source module, a beam splitter, a collimating microlens array, an optical fiber array, an imaging microlens array, a scanning module, a detection module and a control unit; The light source module is used to provide at least one multi-color illumination beam that has been expanded and collimated; The beam splitter is used to separate the illumination beam and an independent signal sub-beam; The collimating microlens array is used to converge the illumination beam into multiple independent illumination sub-beams and collimate the independent signal sub-beams; The optical fiber array is used to transmit the independent illumination sub-beams and the independent signal sub-beams; The imaging microlens array is used to guide each independent illumination sub-beam to converge onto or inside the sample respectively to form an independent illumination sub-spot, and receive the independent signal sub-beams from the illuminated area of the sample; The scanning module is used to control the optical fiber array to scan on end face 2 and guide the independent illumination sub-spot to scan and move on the sample; The detection module is used to respectively introduce the independent signal sub-beams output by the optical fiber array into a detector array and detect the signal light from the sample carried by the independent signal sub-beams; The control unit is used to send a scanning control command to the scanning module, collect the electrical signals output by the detection module, and splice the sub-region image information obtained by scanning the independent illumination sub-spot on the sample, and display the sample image information; Wherein, one collimating lens and one imaging lens in the collimating microlens array and the imaging microlens array form a group and are respectively integrated on two end faces of a single optical fiber; the optical fiber array combined with the scanning module can parallelly acquire the sub-images of the corresponding regions of the independent illumination sub-spots on the sample.

2. The optical fiber confocal microscopic endoscopy imaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The collimating microlenses of the collimating microlens array are designed as aberration-corrected collimating lenses; the imaging microlenses of the imaging microlens array are designed as aberration-corrected imaging lenses.

3. The optical fiber confocal microscopic endoscopy imaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, At end face 1 of the optical fiber array, the collimating microlens is fixed at the end face of each single-mode optical fiber, and is used to couple the multi-color illumination beam into a single optical fiber and collimate and output an independent signal sub-beam transmitted by a single optical fiber.

4. The optical fiber confocal microscopic endoscopy imaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, At end face 2 of the optical fiber array, the imaging microlens is fixed at the end face of each single-mode optical fiber, so that the core of each single optical fiber has the functions of a point light source and a point detector similar to a confocal microscope, and is used to converge an independent illumination sub-beam output by each single optical fiber onto or inside the sample, and receive the backscattering or fluorescence signal from the illuminated area of the sample.

5. The optical fiber confocal microscopic endoscopy imaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The peripheries of the collimating microlens and the imaging microlens have opaque cylindrical support layers, and the maximum diameters of the support layers are both smaller than the diameters of the single-mode optical fibers at the corresponding end faces.

6. The fiber optic confocal microscopic endoscopy imaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the fiber optic array is designed to be composed of N single-mode optical fibers, and the arrangement of its two end faces has one of the arrangements of square, rectangle, equilateral hexagon and circle.

7. The fiber optic confocal microscopic endoscopy imaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the detection module has N independent detectors or a detector array including N detection units, and is used to detect the signal light scattered or emitted from the illumination regions corresponding to N independent illumination sub-spots on the sample.

8. The fiber optic confocal microscopic endoscopy imaging device according to claim 7, characterized in that, the N independent detectors select N independent PMTs or APDs with pigtails; the detector array including N detection units selects an array PMT or a multi-pixel photon counter MPPC.

9. The fiber optic confocal microscopic endoscopy imaging device according to claim 8, characterized in that, a micro-collimating lens is fixed on the signal input end face of each detector with a pigtail.

10. A fiber optic confocal microscopic endoscopy imaging method, characterized in that, based on the fiber optic confocal microscopic endoscopy imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 9; including: providing at least one multi-color illumination beam with a light source module; guiding the multi-color illumination beam to a fiber optic array with a beam splitter; respectively focusing and introducing the illumination beam into each optical fiber of the fiber optic array with a collimating microlens array to realize single-mode transmission of the independent illumination sub-beams; imaging the independent illumination sub-beams output from the fiber optic array to the surface or inside of the sample simultaneously with an imaging microlens array to form independent illumination sub-spots conjugated with each core in the fiber optic array; receiving the backscattering or fluorescence signal from the illuminated dot matrix region on the surface or inside of the sample with an imaging microlens array, coupling it into the fiber optic array and outputting it to the end face 1 of the fiber optic array; collimating and outputting the independent signal sub-beams with a collimating microlens array; guiding the independent signal sub-beams to a detection module with a beam splitter; guiding each independent signal sub-beam into the corresponding independent detector or detector array with the detection module; wherein, a scanning module is used to perform three-dimensional scanning movement of the fiber optic array at the end face 2 to parallelly acquire the image information of each sub-region on the surface or inside of the sample; a control unit sends a scanning command to the scanning module, collects the electrical signals output by the detection module, and processes and stitches the image information of each sub-region to display the sample image; wherein, a single optical fiber corresponds to an independent confocal microscopic imaging channel; the fiber optic array corresponds to spatially parallel confocal microscopic imaging channels; each sub-region image is stitched into a sample microscopic image according to the imaging dot matrix arrangement structure and scanning timing.

Images