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The diameters of the distal tip and the insertion tube are 13.4 mm and 12.8
mm, respectively. During laser endoscopy, an argon ion laser delivers an
excitation wavelength of 488 nm, and the maximum laser power output is < 1
mW at the surface of the tissue. The confocal image data are collected at
scanning rates of 1.6 frames/s (1024 x 512 pixels) or 0.8 frames/s (1024 x
1024 pixels). The optical slice thickness is 7 µm, with a lateral resolution
of 0.7 µm (field of view 475 x 475 µm). The range of the z-axis is 0-250 µm
below the surface layer. The confocal endoscope can be handled in the same
way as a standard endoscope. The distal tip of the endoscope is placed in
gentle contact with the mucosa,allowing targeted endomicroscopic imaging,
and the position of the focal plane within the specimen is adjusted by using
two additional buttons on the endoscope control. Images from the surface to
the deeper parts of mucosal layer can be obtained, and images of interest
can be stored digitally on the hard drive using a foot switch. |
