US-20260123833-A1 - Parallel Optical Coherence Tomography Apparatuses, Systems, and Related Methods

US20260123833A1US 20260123833 A1US20260123833 A1US 20260123833A1US-20260123833-A1

Abstract

SNAPSHOT SPECTRAL DOMAIN OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHER Provided is a snapshot spectral domain optical coherence tomographer comprising a light source providing a plurality of beamlets; a beam splitter, splitting the plurality of beamlets into a reference arm and a sample arm; a first optical system that projects the sample arm onto multiple locations of a sample; a second optical system for collection of a plurality of reflected sample beamlets; a third optical system projecting the reference arm to a reflecting surface and receiving a plurality of reflected reference beamlets; a parallel interferometer that provides a plurality of interferograms from each of the plurality of sample beamlets with each of the plurality of reference beamlets; an optical image mapper configured to spatially separate the plurality of interferograms; a spectrometer configured to disperse each of the interferograms into its respective spectral components and project each interferogram in parallel; and a photodetector providing photon quantification.

Inventors

Michael D. Abramoff
Edward DeHoog

Assignees

DIGITAL DIAGNOSTICS INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251229

Claims (16)

1 . A tomographer comprising: a light source configured to provide a plurality of beamlets, wherein the plurality of beamlets are converted by an optical image mapper; a prism; a first optical system comprising a sample objective lens configured to project certain of the plurality of beamlets onto a sample; and a second optical system comprising a reference objective lens configured to project certain of the plurality of beamlets onto a reflecting surface, wherein the tomographer generates a plurality of interferograms by recombining the beamlets reflected from the sample and the beamlets reflected from the reflecting surface, wherein the plurality of beamlets from the optical image mapper are projected to the prism.
2 . The tomographer of claim 1 , further comprising a photodetector configured to receive spectral components of each of the plurality of interferograms and provide in parallel photon quantification.
3 . The tomographer of claim 2 , wherein the tomographer performs inverse transforms on the photon quantifications and quantifies intensities at each depth, and wherein the tomographer interprets the intensities and provides an aggregate response of the sample.
4 . The tomographer of claim 3 , wherein the aggregate response quantifies nerve fiber thinning and an amount of retinal thickening.
5 . The tomographer of claim 1 , wherein the light source is selected from an array of broadband low-coherence light sources, a single broadband low-coherence light source, a superluminous diode, and a supercontinuum laser.
6 . The tomographer of claim 1 , further comprising a first faceted prism array and a second faceted prism array, wherein the plurality of beamlets enter the first faceted prism array as a rectilinear array and convert the rectilinear array into a linear array and the second faceted prism array makes the plurality of beamlets coplanar.
7 . The tomographer of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of beamlets are converted to a linear array by the optical image mapper.
8 . The tomographer of claim 1 , wherein the optical image mapper comprises a plurality of optical fibers.
9 . A method for imaging an eye comprising: providing a plurality of beamlets from a light source; projecting a first set of the plurality of beamlets onto a sample and a second set of the plurality of beamlets onto a reflecting surface, wherein the plurality of beamlets are projected to a prism; recombining beamlets reflected from the reflecting surface and the sample; and generating a plurality of interferograms.
10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising receiving spectral components of each of the plurality of interferograms and providing in parallel photon quantification.
11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising: performing inverse transforms on the photon quantifications and quantifies intensities at each depth; interpreting the intensities; and providing an aggregate response of the sample.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the aggregate response quantifies nerve fiber thinning and an amount of retinal thickening.
13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the light source is selected from an array of broadband low-coherence light sources, a single broadband low-coherence light source, a superluminous diode, and a supercontinuum laser.
14 . The method of claim 9 , wherein plurality of beamlets are converted to a linear array.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of beamlets are converted by an optical image mapper that comprises a plurality of optical fibers.
16 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising using a first faceted prism array and a second faceted prism array, wherein the plurality of beamlets enter the first faceted prism array as a rectilinear array and convert the rectilinear array into a linear array and the second faceted prism array makes the plurality of beamlets coplanar.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/737,811, filed Jun. 7, 2024, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/854,515, filed Apr. 21, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,029,481, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/729,252, filed Oct. 10, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,624,537, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/867,897, filed Sep. 28, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,782,065, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/266,263, filed Apr. 30, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,155,465, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/817,413, filed Apr. 30, 2013, the benefit of each of which is claimed hereby, and each of which is incorporated herein in its entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to optical coherence tomography imagers. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a technique to measure depth dependent refractive index changes at a single location, and can be used for two-and three-dimensional imaging of tissue and other semi-transparent materials. 3D OCT is primarily used in the eye, to image the retina and retinal abnormalities and the cornea and corneal abnormalities at high resolution. The principle of OCT is based upon low-coherence interferometry, where the backscatter from more outer retinal tissues can be differentiated from that of more inner tissues because it takes longer for the light to reach the sensor. Because the differences between the most superficial and the deepest layers in the retina and the cornea are around 100-400 μm, the difference in time of arrival is very small and requires interferometry to measure. The spectral-domain OCT (SDOCT) improvement of the traditional time-domain OCT (TDOCT) technique, known also as Fourier domain OCT (FDOCT), makes this technology suitable for real-time cross-sectional retinal imaging at video rate. OCT imagers presently on the market are expensive and complex because they depend on scanning across the retina, which is typically performed through galvanic mirrors that deflect measurement light. Galvanic mirrors require precise adjustment, have finite latency and response time, and substantially increase complexity and cost of OCT imagers. Because of this substantial cost and complexity, the availability of OCT imagers is limited and thus many in the population have limited access to retinal examinations that could be key to the early detection and preventative treatment of conditions such as diabetic retinopathy. There is a need in the art for a low-cost OCT imager that could be cheaply and easily deployed to locations such as primary care clinics, drug stores and retail stores, or even at home to allow for increased access to high quality retinal scans. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In an aspect, provided is a snapshot spectral domain optical coherence tomographer comprising a light source providing a plurality of beamlets; a beam splitter, splitting the plurality of beamlets into a reference arm and a sample arm; a first optical system that projects the sample arm onto multiple locations of a sample; a second optical system for collection of a plurality of reflected sample beamlets; a third optical system projecting the reference arm to a reflecting surface and receiving a plurality of reflected reference beamlets; a parallel interferometer that provides a plurality of interferograms from each of the plurality of sample beamlets with each of the plurality of reference beamlets; an optical image mapper configured to spatially separate the plurality of interferograms; a spectrometer configured to disperse each of the interferograms into its respective spectral components and project the spectral components of each interferogram in parallel; and a photodetector configured to receive the spectral components of each interferogram and provide in parallel photon quantification. In an aspect, provided is a snapshot spectral domain optical coherence tomographer comprising a housing and a system of optical components disposed in the housing capable of parallel optical coherence imaging of a sample; a broadband low coherence light source providing light to a beam splitter wherein the beam splitter splits the light into a reference arm and a sample arm; a first optical element converting the sample arm into a plurality of beamlets and focusing the plurality of beamlets on the sample; a reflecting surface reflecting light from the reference arm, wherein the light reflected from the reflecting surface is recombined with the plurality of beamlets reflected from the sample producing a plurality of beamlet interferograms; an optical image mapper configured to receive and spatially separate the plurality of beamlet interferograms; a spectrometer configured to disperse each of the beamlet interferograms into its respective spectral components and project the spectral components of each