Self-interfering tomography system
US8396536B2 · kind B2 · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 24, 2010 |
| Grant date | Mar 12, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 11, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01B9/02091
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Light is collected from a sample that is to be imaged, such as tissue or the like, and made to undergo self-interference, e.g., on a detector. An imaging system may include a low coherence light source arranged for illuminating the sample, and an interferometer arranged to receive the light collected from the sample and to pass it to a detector. The interferometer includes a beam divider that directs the radiation collected from the sample along two paths, phase-delaying one beam relative to another and then recombining the beams on a detector. A processor may be coordinated with the phase delay and in some embodiments with spatial scanning or detector array addresses, and operates on the signal from the detector to form a tomographic image of the sample illuminated tissue. By constructing an image based upon interference the interferometric signal from of the split and then recombined radiation collected from the sample signal, rather than interference of a source reference and a return signal, the invention is able to image with light naturally emitted by the sample, or with wavelength-shifted, delayed or induced light signals of different types, allowing new modalities of diagno…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.