SBIR Phase I: High-speed, 2048 element 1300 nm sensor for real-time optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目解决了对活组织内部微观结构的高速实时高分辨率横截面图像的需求。这是现代医学诊断的基本需求，只有光学相干断层扫描（OCT）可以满足。这对于眼睛、血管和癌性非透明组织的成像尤其重要。 目前的系统在1300 nm处相对较慢，并且它们具有有限的深度分辨率，这都是在真实的时间中识别组织和微观结构的缺点。 该项目的目标是制造一种新型传感器芯片，可以将成像深度增加2倍，灵敏度增加6 dB，同时以195 kHz的速率进行扫描，提供实时成像解决方案。 该项目将对读出芯片架构进行实质性改进，以实现高速、大数据速率和提高灵敏度的目标。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力主要体现在实现OCT设备，该设备将增强许多医学学科的诊断能力，特别是眼科、心脏病学、癌症检测和牙科。这种强大的医疗诊断工具将有助于提高许多人的生活质量。预计OCT市场的增长将非常显著，从今天的2亿美元增长到四年后的8亿美元。 这种高速、高灵敏度的OCT传感器将占据这一市场的重要部分。 它的性能远远高于竞争对手，能够实现实时成像，这提高了人们的期望，即它不仅能够占据预计的市场份额，而且还应该增长整体市场。此外，值得注意的是，该产品的成功将在美国创造数百个高科技工作岗位。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the need for high-speed real-time high-resolution cross-sectional images of the internal microstructure of living tissue. This is a fundamental need of modern medical diagnostics that only optical coherence tomography (OCT) can meet. This is particularly important for imaging of the eye, blood vessels, and cancerous non-transparent tissue. Today's systems are relatively slow at 1300 nm, and they have limited depth resolution, which are all drawbacks in identifying tissue and microstructure in real time. The objective of this project is to make a novel sensor chip that can increase the depth of imaging by 2x and increase the sensitivity by 6 dB, all while taking scans at a rate of 195 kHz, giving a real-time imaging solution. This project will implement substantial improvements in readout chip architecture to realize these goals of high speed, large data rate and improved sensitivity.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project translates mainly in the realization of OCT equipment that will enhance the diagnostic capabilities of many medical disciplines, in particular ophthalmology, cardiology, cancer detection and dentistry. This powerful medical diagnostic tool will help enhance the quality of life of many people. The growth of the OCT market is expected to be very significant, from $200 million today to over $800 million in four years. This high-speed, high-sensitivity OCT sensor will capture a significant part of this market. Its performance is far above the competition, enabling real-time imaging, raising the expectation is that it would not only capture the projected market share, but it should also grow the overall market. Also, significantly, the success of this product will generate hundreds of high-technology jobs in the United States.