Papers Published

1. T. K. Drake and F. E. Robles and A. Wax, Multiplexed low coherence interferometry instrument for measuring microbicide gel thickness distribution, Applied Optics, vol. 48 no. 10 (April, 2009), pp. D14 -- D19 .
   (last updated on 2009/09/02)

   Abstract:
   We present a Fourier-domain, multiplexed low coherence interferometry (LCI) instrument designed for application to intravaginal measurement of microbicidal gel distribution. Microbicide gels are topical products developed to combat sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, by acting as delivery vehicles for active drugs and barrier layers to vaginal tissue. Measuring microbicide gel vaginal distribution is key to understanding the gel's biological effectiveness. This study presents a new LCI system for measuring gel distribution that uses six multiplexed channels to achieve broad area scanning without the need for a mechanical scanner. The presented results characterize the performance of the Fourier-domain multiplexed LCI system in measuring gel thickness distribution. The system demonstrates good optical signal-to-noise ratio, steady performance across all channels, negligible cross talk, and accurate measurement with micrometer scale resolution. The potential impact of using a multiplexed LCI system for in vivo measurements is also discussed. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America