Unification of satellite and medical scan methods

Remote sensing from an aerial platform has many similarities to medical imaging. Line, whiskbroom, and pushbroom scanning techniques are compared with scan patterns from medical imaging. Satellite imaging uses a scan mirror or sensor array to achieve across track imagery and uses its procession in orbit to achieve along track movement. Medical imaging technologies, like confocal microscopy and optical coherence tomography, use similar scanning mechanisms for across track imagery, but are not in orbit and must introduce the along track movement with a second galvanometer scan mirror or linear stage. Square, triangle, sinusoidal, and sawtooth waveform inputs to the galvanometer provide the actuation signal to control sweeping patterns across a sample. A tissue handling system for medical applications is introduced for discussion and simulation of scan mechanism implementation. The scan system uses a galvanometer and linear stage combination to provide control over light delivery and sample positioning. The synchronization requirements and efficacy of various scan patterns are examined.