Electronically scanned coherence tomography with frequency modulated signals
First Claim
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1. An electronics interface for interfacing to a light detector, the electronics interface comprising:
- a tuner having an input coupled to the output of the light detector and an output, the tuner adapted to receive a detector signal from the light detector, the detector signal comprising a plurality of modulation signals, each one of the plurality of modulation frequencies corresponding to a different aspect of an image of body tissue;
an analog-to-digital converter having an input coupled to the output of the tuner and an output; and
a first memory buffer having an input coupled to the output of the analog-to-digital converter and an output.
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Abstract
An improved Optical Coherence Domain Reflectometry (OCDR) system is provided. One embodiment of this OCDR system outputs a detector signal carrying image depth information on multiple modulation frequencies, where each modulation frequency corresponds to a different image depth. The image depth information from the detector signal may be resolved by tuning to the desired modulation frequency. Another system for imaging body tissue uses multiple frequency modulators such that the light beam does not travel from an optical fiber to free space.
59 Citations
59 Claims
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1. An electronics interface for interfacing to a light detector, the electronics interface comprising:
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a tuner having an input coupled to the output of the light detector and an output, the tuner adapted to receive a detector signal from the light detector, the detector signal comprising a plurality of modulation signals, each one of the plurality of modulation frequencies corresponding to a different aspect of an image of body tissue;
an analog-to-digital converter having an input coupled to the output of the tuner and an output; and
a first memory buffer having an input coupled to the output of the analog-to-digital converter and an output. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. An optical system for imaging body tissue comprising:
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a beam generator which receives a light beam and generates a reference light beam and a sample light beam, the sample light beam being directed at body tissue to be imaged;
a first coupler which receives the reference light beam and generates a plurality of reference light beams;
a plurality of first optical fibers, each first optical fiber being coupled to receive one of the plurality of reference light beams;
a plurality of modulators, each modulator being coupled to one of the plurality of first optical fibers for receiving one of the plurality of reference light beams from one of the plurality of first optical fibers, each modulator modulating the reference light beam at a unique modulation frequency;
a plurality of second optical fibers, each one of the second optical fibers being coupled to one of the plurality of modulators for receiving the modulated reference light beam from the modulator;
a second coupler which receives a reflected sample light beam which is reflected off the body tissue; and
a beam combiner coupled to the second coupler, the beam combiner receiving the reflected sample light beam from the second coupler, receiving the modulated reference light beam and generating a combined light beam. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A method for processing an optical coherence tomographic image of body tissue, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a first signal corresponding to a first image depth;
frequency modulating the first signal into a first frequency modulated signal;
receiving a second signal corresponding to a second image depth;
frequency modulating the second signal into a second frequency modulated signal where the frequency of the first frequency modulated signal is not equal to the frequency of the second frequency modulated signal;
combining the first and second frequency modulated signals into a combined signal.
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46. A method of imaging body tissue comprising the steps of:
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generating a plurality of reference light beams;
modulating each one of the plurality of reference light beams at a unique modulation frequency to create a plurality of modulated reference light beams;
receiving a reflected sample light beam which is reflected off body tissue; and
generating a combined light beam from the reflected sample light beam and the modulated reference light beam. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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Specification