Apparatus, systems, and methods for biomedical imaging and stimulation
First Claim
1. An apparatus for illuminating a target, the apparatus comprising:
- a light guide having a non-circular cross-section to receive and guide a plurality of spatial modes excited by at least one beam of light, the light guide comprising;
a first segment defining a first window to transmit a first spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes into and out of the light guide; and
a second segment in optical communication with the first segment, the second segment defining a second window to transmit a second spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes into and out of the light guide; and
a photodetector array, in optical communication with the light guide, comprising a first photodetector to sense light in the first spatial mode transmitted into the light guide via the first window and a second photodetector to sense light in the second spatial mode transmitted into the light guide via the second window.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-channel optical imaging and stimulation system includes a light source to deliver light beams into a light guide. Different light beams are coupled into different spatial modes supported by the light guide. The light guide includes multiple segments, each of which defines a window to couple a specified group of spatial modes out of the light guide to illuminate or stimulate a target. Light reflected, scattered, or emitted by the target is also collected by the windows in the light guide. The light collected by different windows is detected by different pixels of a detector, thereby creating a correspondence between the pixel location and the spatial location of site at which the light is collected. An image of the target is then reconstructed based on this correspondence.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. An apparatus for illuminating a target, the apparatus comprising:
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a light guide having a non-circular cross-section to receive and guide a plurality of spatial modes excited by at least one beam of light, the light guide comprising; a first segment defining a first window to transmit a first spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes into and out of the light guide; and a second segment in optical communication with the first segment, the second segment defining a second window to transmit a second spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes into and out of the light guide; and a photodetector array, in optical communication with the light guide, comprising a first photodetector to sense light in the first spatial mode transmitted into the light guide via the first window and a second photodetector to sense light in the second spatial mode transmitted into the light guide via the second window. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 27, 28)
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13. An apparatus for illuminating a target, the apparatus comprising:
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a light guide having a non-circular cross-section to receive and guide a plurality of spatial modes excited by at least one beam of light, the light guide comprising; a first segment defining a first window to transmit a first spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes into and out of the light guide, wherein the first window comprises a first facet opposite a base surface of the first segment, the first facet and the base surface defining a tilt angle; a second segment in optical communication with the first segment, the second segment defining a second window to transmit a second spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes into and out of the light guide; a first cladding material disposed on the first facet, the first cladding material having a first refractive index; and a second cladding material disposed on the base surface, the second cladding material having a second refractive index less than the first refractive index.
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18. A method of illuminating a target, the method comprising:
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exciting a plurality of spatial modes in a light waveguide; emitting, at a first segment in the light waveguide, a first spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes out of the light waveguide through a first window opposite a bottom surface of the light waveguide so as to illuminate a first location on the target; guiding a second spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes from the first segment to a second segment in the light waveguide via a third segment of the light waveguide, the third segment having a top surface parallel to the bottom surface of the light waveguide; emitting, at the second segment in the light waveguide, the second spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes out of the light waveguide through a second window opposite the bottom surface of the light waveguide so as to illuminate a second location on the target; guiding, via the first segment of the light waveguide, light reflected or emitted by the first location toward a first photodetector of a photodetector array; guiding, via the second segment of the light waveguide, light reflected or emitted by the second location toward a second photodetector of the photodetector array; and generating an image of at least a portion of the target based at least in part on the light received by the first photodetector and the second photodetector. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A system for imaging a target, the system comprising:
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an array of LEDs to emit an array of light beams; a beam splitter, in optical communication with the array of LEDs, to receive the array of light beams; an input lens, in optical communication with the beam splitter; a light waveguide in optical communication with the input lens, the input lens transmitting a first light beam in the array of light beams toward the light waveguide at a first incident angle so as to excite a first spatial mode and transmitting a second light beam in the array of light beams toward the light waveguide at a second incident angle so as to excite a second spatial mode, the light waveguide comprising; a first facet to transmit the first spatial mode out of the light waveguide and to couple light into the first spatial mode from the target; and a second facet to transmit the second spatial mode out of the light waveguide and to couple light into the second spatial mode from the target; and a detector, in optical communication with the beam splitter, to generate an image of at least a portion of the target, the detector comprising; a first pixel to sense light collected by the first facet; and a second pixel to sense light collected by the second facet.
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Specification