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US 7,929,148 B2Granted
Optical coherence tomography implementation apparatus and method of use
AssigneeVolcano Corporation
InventorNathaniel J. Kemp
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Provided herein are systems, methods, and compositions for optical coherence tomography implementations. The OCT implementation generally applies to both spectrometer-based and swept source-based implementations of PS-FD-OCT, and also to both fiber based and bulk-optical and Michelson and Mach-Zender PS-OCT implementations, where the detection arm is free from two photoreceivers or spectrometers for detecting the interference of the first polarization state and the second polarization state.
Claims20
An optical coherence tomography implementation device comprising:
- a. a reference arm optically coupled to an interferometer, wherein the reference arm includes a first reference path of optical energy and a second reference path of optical energy;
- and
- b. the first reference path of optical energy including a first polarization state and the second reference path of optical energy including a second polarization state, wherein the first polarization state is orthogonal to the second polarization state, and separating the first and second polarization states as a function of path-length difference rather than as a function of spatial location, wherein a detection arm is optically coupled to the interferometer and the detection arm is free from two photoreceivers or spectrometers for detecting the interference of the first polarization state and the second polarization state.
A method of optical coherence tomography, comprising
- a. splitting a reference arm from an interferometer into a first polarization state and a second polarization state, wherein the first polarization state is orthogonal to the second polarization state, and separating the first and second polarization states as a function of path-length difference rather than as a function of spatial location;
- and
- b. detecting the interference from the first polarization state and the second polarization state in a detection arm optically coupled to the interferometer, wherein the detection arm is free from two photoreceivers or spectrometers to detect the interference of the first polarization state and the second polarization state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.