Optical disk readout method using optical coherence tomography and spectral interferometry
US6072765A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 5, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jun 6, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 5, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S977/951
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An optical coherence tomography(OCT) and spectral interferometry imaging probe for the automatic screening and diagnosis of cervical and skin cancer in vivo. The probe eliminates the old techniques of having to perform Pap smears followed by a biopsy, known as colposcopy. The novel probe is cylindrical in shape and has a disposable outer plastic shield. Inside the probe is a motor driven rotatable casing having a planar optical fiber bundle array therein. The fiber bundle array has plastic light coupling lenslet arrays on both ends. The exposed end of the probe has one lenslet array disc that couples light between the probe and an interior of the cervix area being examined. Both the casing and the bundle array rotate relative to the outer probe walls. Inside the casing is a rotatable motor driven scanning mirror which couples passes light from an incoming second fiber bundle array to the lenslet array on the inside end of the rotatable casing fiber bundle array. The incoming second fiber bundle array is attached to a detector located external and remote to the probe. The detector has a tunable light source and a spectrometer for providing 3-D images of the interior of the cervix. T…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.