Optical coherence tomography system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An optical coherence tomography system, comprising:
- a catheter;
a plurality of light conducting fibers arranged on the catheter; and
a plurality of optical units each assigned to one of the fibers respectively, wherein each optical unit comprises an interferometer unit which comprises a reference arm and an evaluation unit having a detector, and wherein a single light source is provided for the optical units,wherein the optical units are configured such that;
light from the each assigned optical unit in the respective fiber is guided from a proximal fiber end to a distal fiber end independently of other fibers, anda signal is guided from the distal fiber end to the proximal fiber end independently of other fibers and independently evaluated in the respectively assigned optical unit so that the light and the signal are transmitted simultaneously in different fibers,wherein each fiber is configured to turn together with the associated optical unit independently of other fibers.
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Abstract
An optical coherence tomography system includes a catheter in which is arranged a plurality of light conducting fibers. It further includes a plurality of optical units. Light from the proximal end to the distal end and signals from the distal end to the proximal end can be transmitted simultaneously in different fibers. Time is saved through the simultaneous signal processing of signals from different fibers. That is advantageous particularly in the imaging, by means of coherence tomography, of blood vessels that have to be occluded for said imaging.
113 Citations
16 Claims
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1. An optical coherence tomography system, comprising:
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a catheter; a plurality of light conducting fibers arranged on the catheter; and a plurality of optical units each assigned to one of the fibers respectively, wherein each optical unit comprises an interferometer unit which comprises a reference arm and an evaluation unit having a detector, and wherein a single light source is provided for the optical units, wherein the optical units are configured such that; light from the each assigned optical unit in the respective fiber is guided from a proximal fiber end to a distal fiber end independently of other fibers, and a signal is guided from the distal fiber end to the proximal fiber end independently of other fibers and independently evaluated in the respectively assigned optical unit so that the light and the signal are transmitted simultaneously in different fibers, wherein each fiber is configured to turn together with the associated optical unit independently of other fibers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for an optical coherence tomography system having a catheter, comprising:
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arranging a plurality of light conducting fibers on the catheter; providing a plurality of optical units, each unit comprising a reference arm and an evaluation unit having a detector; assigning the plurality of optical units each to one of the fibers respectively; guiding light from the each assigned optical unit in the respective fiber from a proximal fiber end to a distal fiber end independently of other fibers; guiding a signal from the distal fiber end to the proximal fiber end independently of other fibers; evaluating the signal in the respectively assigned optical unit independently; turning each fiber together with the associated optical unit independently of other fibers; and transmitting the light and the signal simultaneously in different fibers. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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Specification