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US 8,947,648 B2Granted
Systems and methods for signal processing in optical imaging systems
AssigneeNinePoint Medical, Inc.
InventorsEric A. Swanson, Eman Namati, Michael Madden, J. Christopher Flaherty
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Abstract
Systems, devices and methods of producing an image are provided. A electro-magnetic radiation source provides electro-magnetic radiation to a sample and a reference. A detector/interferogram unit produces at least one interferogram that is supplied to a signal processing unit. The signal processing unit extracts phase, magnitude, and/or polarization data from the supplied signals, and produces an image based on at least the extracted data.
Claims35
An imaging system, comprising:
- an electro-magnetic radiation source configured to provide a first electro-magnetic radiation to a sample and a second electro-magnetic radiation to a reference, wherein a frequency of radiation provided by the electro-magnetic radiation source varies over time;
- a detector/interferogram unit configured to detect an interference between a third radiation associated with the first radiation and a fourth radiation associated with the second radiation and generate at least one interferogram associated with the third electro-magnetic radiation and the fourth electro-magnetic radiation;
- and
- a signal processing unit configured to extract hybrid data from the at least one interferogram and produce an image of the sample based on the hybrid data,
- wherein the hybrid data includes at least one of magnitude data, phase data, and polarization data,
- wherein said signal processing unit is further configured to improve the quality of the image based on the hybrid data by adjusting one or more variables used to produce the image,
- wherein the quality of the image is improved by at least one of reducing artifacts, eliminating the complex conjugate ambiguity, reducing polarization fading, increasing system sensitivity, improving axial resolution, and compensating for at least one of system imperfections, detector/interferogram unit imperfections, non-linearities present in the electro-magnetic radiation source, chromatic dispersion, polarization rotation, compensating for polarization dependent loss, polarization mode dispersion, wavelength dependence of at least one optical component of the system, electro-magnetic radiation source nonlinearities, imperfections in a polarization splitting ratio, imperfections in wavelength-dependent polarization mode dispersion, imperfections in wavelength-dependent polarization dependent loss, imperfections in wavelength-dependent phase deviations, and imperfections in polarization-dependent phase deviation,
- wherein the compensating for non-linearities present in the electro-magnetic radiation source is performed in real time.
5 more elements
A method for processing image data in an imaging system, comprising the steps of:
- providing by an electro-magnetic radiation source a first electro-magnetic radiation to a sample and a second electro-magnetic radiation to a reference;
- varying a frequency of radiation provided by the electro-magnetic radiation source varies over time;
- detecting by a detector/interferogram unit an interference between a third radiation associated with the first radiation and a fourth radiation associated with the second radiation;
- generating by the detector/interferogram unit at least one interferogram associated with the third electro-magnetic radiation and the fourth electro-magnetic radiation;
- extracting by a signal processing unit hybrid data from the at least one interferogram;
- and
- producing by the signal processing unit an image of the sample based on the hybrid data,
- further comprising comparing by the signal processing unit hybrid data or processed hybrid data to a threshold,
- wherein the hybrid data includes at least one of magnitude data, phase data, and polarization data;
- wherein if the threshold is exceeded the method further comprises at least one of producing an alarm state, associating at least a portion of an image to an alert state, associating at least a portion of an image as including at least one artifact, disabling at least one system component, turning off power to a tissue marking device, modifying energy delivered by a tissue marking device to tissue, turning off power to a therapeutic element, modifying energy delivered by a therapeutic element to tissue, and modifying delivery of a drug or other agent by a therapeutic element.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.