Apparatus and method for increasing the sensitivity in the detection of optical coherence tomography and low coherence interferometry (“LCI”) signals by detecting a parallel set of spectral bands, each band being a unique combination of optical frequencies. The LCI broad bandwidth source is split into N spectral bands. The N spectral bands are individually detected and processed to provide an increase in the signal-to-noise ratio by a factor of N. Each spectral band is detected by a separate photo detector and amplified. For each spectral band the signal is band pass filtered around the signal band by analog electronics and digitized, or, alternatively, the signal may be digitized and band pass filtered in software. As a consequence, the shot noise contribution to the signal is reduced by a factor equal to the number of spectral bands. The signal remains the same. The reduction of the shot noise increases the dynamic range and sensitivity of the system.

Apparatus and method for ranging and noise reduction of low coherence interferometry LCI and optical coherence tomography OCT signals by parallel detection of spectral bands

An apparatus and method are provided. In particular, at least one first electro-magnetic radiation may be provided to a sample and at least one second electro-magnetic radiation can be provided to a non-reflective reference. A frequency of the first and/or second radiations varies over time. An interference is detected between at least one third radiation associated with the first radiation and at least one fourth radiation associated with the second radiation. Alternatively, the first electro-magnetic radiation and/or second electro-magnetic radiation have a spectrum which changes over time. The spectrum may contain multiple frequencies at a particular time. In addition, it is possible to detect the interference signal between the third radiation and the fourth radiation in a first polarization state. Further, it may be preferable to detect a further interference signal between the third and fourth radiations in a second polarization state which is different from the first polarization state. The first and/or second electro-magnetic radiations may have a spectrum whose mean frequency changes substantially continuously over time at a tuning speed that is greater than 100 Tera Hertz per millisecond.

Method and apparatus for performing optical imaging using frequency-domain interferometry

A system and method for imaging of a sample, e.g., biological sample, are provided. In particular, at least one source electro-magnetic radiation forwarded to the sample and a reference may be generated. A plurality of detectors may be used, at least one of the detectors capable of detecting a signal associated with a combination of at least one first electro-magnetic radiation received from the sample and at least one second electro-magnetic radiation received from the reference. At least one particular detector may have a particular electrical integration time, and can receive at least a portion of the signal for a time duration which has a first portion with a first power level greater than a predetermined threshold and a second portion immediately preceding or following the first portion. The second portion may have a second power level that is less than the predetermined threshold, and extends for a time period which may be, e.g., approximately more than 10% of the particular electrical integration time.

System and method for optical coherence imaging

Speckle, a factor reducing image quality in optical coherence tomography ('OCT'), can limit the ability to identify cellular structures that are important for the diagnosis of a variety of diseases. The present invention allows for an implementation of an angular compounding, angular compounding by path length encoding ('ACPE') for reducing speckle in OCT images. By averaging images obtained at different incident angles, with each image encoded by path length, ACPE maintains high-speed image acquisition and implements minimal modifications to OCT probe optics. ACPE images obtained from tissue phantoms and human skin in vivo demonstrate a qualitative improvement over traditional OCT and an increased signal-to-noise ratio ('SNR'). Accordingly, apparatus probe catheter, and method are provided for irradiating a sample. In particular, an interferometer (5) may forward forwarding an electromagnetic radiation (10). In addition, a sample arm may receive the electromagnetic radiation, and can include an arrangement (20) which facilitates a production of at least two radiations (30, 40) from the electromagnetic radiation so as to irradiate the sample. Such arrangement can be configured to delay a first radiation of the at least two radiations with respect to a second radiation of the at least two radiations.

Speckle reduction in optical coherence tomography by path length encoded angular compounding

Exemplary method, apparatus and arrangement can be provided for obtaining information associated with a sample such as a portion of an anatomical structure. The information can be generated using first data, which can be based on a signal obtained from a location on the sample, and second data, where the second data can be obtained by combining a second signal received from the sample with a third reference signal. An image of a portion of the sample can also be generated based on the information. For example, the first data can be associated with spectral encoding microscopy data, and the second data can be associated with optical coherence tomography data.

Method and apparatus for optical imaging via spectral encoding

The polarization properties of concatenations of trunks of birefringent fibers and elements with polarization-dependent losses are analyzed We show both theoretically and experimentally that the concatenation can have zero differential group delay over a whole range of wavelengths but that a pulse propagating down the concatenation can still experience significant pulse spreading In this example the two main methods used for characterizing polarization mode dispersion in optical fiber systems, ie, Jones matrix eigenanalysis and the interferometric method, give different results This counterintuitive example underlines the need for a careful assessment of the basic concepts related to polarization effects in the presence of polarization-dependent losses

C. De Barros

Papers

Polarization-induced pulse spreading in birefringent optical fibers with zero differential group delay.