Spectral domain optical coherence tomography system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016363435-A1
Application number	US-201615177851-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 9, 2016
Priority date	Jun 20, 2006
Publication date	Dec 15, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An optical coherence tomography device is disclosed for improved imaging. Reduced levels of speckle in the images generated by the device are obtained by forming a B-scan from a plurality of A-scans, wherein each resolution cell of the B-scan is generated through compounding of a subset of the A-scans and wherein at least some of the subset of A-scans are separated by at least half the diameter of a speckle cell both tangent to and orthogonal to the B-scan at that cell.

First claim

1 . (canceled)

2 . An optical coherence tomography (OCT) system for imaging a sample, the OCT system including a light source generating a light beam, a sample arm, a reference arm and a detection arm, said OCT system comprising:
optics for scanning the light beam to a plurality of positions in an X/Y plane on the sample; a detector coupled to the detection arm for generating output signals in response to light collected from the sample arm and the reference arm; a rapid-scan optical delay (RSOD) device for adjusting the pathlength difference between the sample and reference arm; and a controller for adjusting the pathlength difference at different positions in the X/Y plane during the scanning the light beam.

3 . The OCT system as recited in claim 2 , wherein the pathlength difference at each X/Y position is selected based on a predetermined delay profile.

4 . The OCT system as recited in claim 3 , wherein the sample is a human retina.

5 . The OCT system as recited in claim 4 , wherein the predetermined delay profile is determined using OCT data from an initial scan of the retina to determine a fit to a surface of the retina.

6 . The OCT systems as recited in claim 2 , wherein the pathlength difference adjustment is used to flatten the image of a curved surface.

7 . The OCT systems as recited in claim 2 , wherein the sample is a human retina.

8 . The OCT system as recited in claim 2 , wherein the amount of the pathlength difference adjustments are determined on-the-fly between the collection of output signals by the detector at two different X/Y positions.

9 . The OCT system as recited in claim 2 , wherein the OCT system is a spectral domain OCT system.

10 . The OCT system as recited in claim 2 , wherein the light source is a super luminescent diode.

11 . The OCT system as recited in claim 2 , wherein the RSOD device provides a change in group-delay with relatively small phase delay.

12 . The OCT system as recited in claim 2 , wherein the reference arm is transmissive.

Assignees

• Zeiss Carl Meditec Inc

Inventors

• Everett Matthew J
• Meyer Scott A
• Hacker Martin

Classifications

• G01B2290/65

  Spatial scanning object beam · CPC title

• G01B9/02091

  Tomographic interferometers, e.g. based on optical coherence · CPC title

• A61B3/102

  for optical coherence tomography [OCT] · CPC title

• G01B2290/70

  Using polarization in the interferometer · CPC title

• G01B9/0203

  With imaging systems · CPC title