Claims
- 1. A system for monitoring or imaging a sample, comprising:
an optical interferometer comprising a measurement arm, a reference arm, and an optical splitter, the arms being coupled to receive light from the optical splitter, the interferometer being configured to interfere light outputted by the arms, one of the arms having an acousto-optical modulator; and a detector configured to receive the interfered light and to use the received light to determine a depth-dependent quantity characterizing a portion of the interior of the sample.
- 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the quantity is representative of one of a signed displacement and a velocity of the portion of the interior of the sample
- 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the quantity is representative of a signed displacement of the portion of the interior of the sample.
- 4. The system of claim 2, further comprising:
an optical source coupled to transmit light to the measurement and reference arms and capable of producing light with a coherence length of less than 1 centimeter.
- 5. The system of claim 2, further comprising:
an optical source coupled to transmit light to the measurement and reference arms and capable of producing light with a coherence length of less than 1 millimeter.
- 6. The system of claim 2, where in one of the reference arm and the measurement arm has a variable optical path length.
- 7. A system for medical monitoring or imaging of a patient or animal, comprising:
an optical interferometer having a measurement arm, a reference arm, and an optical splitter, the arms being coupled to receive light from the optical splitter and configured to cause light outputted by the arms to interfere; and an interference detector coupled to receive a portion of the interfering light and configured to determine information representative of a location, an orientation, or a velocity of a portion of the patient or animal from the received light; and a controller coupled to receive the information and to adjust collected data on the animal or patient in a manner responsive to a change in a relative location, orientation, or velocity between a probe and a portion of the interior of a tissue in the animal or patient.
- 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to adjust collected image data to correct the image data for motion of the interior of the tissue in the animal or patient.
- 9. The system of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to control the position of the probe.
- 10. The system of claim 7, wherein one of the reference arm and the measurement arm has a variable optical path length.
- 11. The system of claim 7, wherein one of the reference arm and the measurement arm includes an acousto-optical modulator.
- 12. The system of claim 7, wherein the detector is configured to determine one of a velocity and a signed displacement of the portion of the interior of the tissue based on the received interfering light.
- 13. The system of claim 7, wherein the measurement arm includes an optical endoscope for sending light to and receiving light from the portion of the interior of the tissue of the patient or animal.
- 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the endoscope includes an optical fiber configured to perform the sending and receiving.
- 15. A process for monitoring a sample, comprising:
transmitting light to measurement and reference arms of an interferometer; acousto-optically frequency shifting light in one of the reference arm and the measurement arm; collecting light from the measurement arm in response to the light scattering off a portion of the interior of the sample; and interfering light from the reference arm with the collected light.
- 16. The process of claim 15, further comprising:
determining one of a velocity and a signed displacement of the portion of the interior of the sample based on a measurement of the interfering light.
- 17. The process of claim 15, wherein the transmitted light has a coherence length of less than 1 centimeter.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/269,586, filed Feb. 17, 2001.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60269586 |
Feb 2001 |
US |