Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sufficiently small and tough imaging probe.SOLUTION: The optical probe 4 includes: a torque wire 34; an optical fiber 10 positioned within the torque wire 34; a beam director 18 positioned coaxial with and adjacent to one end of the optical fiber 10; and an overcladding 26, positioned adjacent to and over the optical fiber 10 and the beam director 18, the overcladding 26 defining an air gap adjacent the beam director 18 so as to cause total internal reflection of light passing from the optical fiber 10 through the beam director 18. The optical probe 4 includes a beam expander 14 and a beam shaper 16 coaxial with and located between the optical fiber 10 and the beam director 18.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus and method corresponding to one or more data collection modes related to cardiology, so as to solve a problem that existing integrated IVUS and FFR diagnosis systems do not incorporate OCT imaging, and require exclusive data acquisition and processing device set corresponding to each treatment room.SOLUTION: A system can include an interferometer having a reference arm that includes a first optical fiber of length of L1 and a sample arm that includes a second optical fiber of length of L2 and a first rotary coupler configured to conform with an optical tomography imaging probe, wherein the rotary coupler is in optical communication with the sample arm. The L2 is greater than about 5 meters. The first optical fiber and the second optical fiber can both be disposed in a common protective sheath. The system further includes an optical element configured to adjust the optical path length of the reference arm, wherein the optical element is in optical communication with the reference arm and wherein the optical element is transmissive or reflective.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and apparatus for bringing an optical coherence tomographic (OCT) image and an intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) image with the same orientation and magnification into registration.SOLUTION: A method for bringing an IVUS and an OCT image into registration comprises: obtaining an IVUS image of an area of a lumen (S178); obtaining an OCT image of the same area of the lumen (S182); determining the same asymmetry in each of the IVUS and OCT images; overlaying the IVUS and OCT images and rotating them with respect to each other until the asymmetry in each of the IVUS and OCT images are in registration (S194), and determining the angle of rotation that resulted in the registration. The probe for OCT and IVUS imaging includes: a sheath having a first end and a second end and a wall portion defining a lumen; a marker that is opaque to light and ultrasound located between the first end and second end; and an IVUS/OCT probe head positioned within the sheath.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical coherence tomography system and a method with integrated pressure measurement.SOLUTION: In one embodiment the system includes: an interferometer which comprises a wavelength swept laser, a source arm in communication with the wavelength swept laser, a reference arm in communication with a reference reflector, a first photodetector having a signal output, a detector arm in communication with the first photodetector, a probe interface, and a sample arm in communication with a first optical connector of the probe interface; an acquisition and display system which comprises an A/D converter having a signal input in communication with the first photodetector signal output and a signal output, a processor system in communication with the A/D converter signal output, and a display in communication with the processor system; and a probe which comprises a pressure sensor and is configured for connection to the first optical connector of the probe interface, wherein the pressure transducer comprises an optical pressure transducer.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a quantitative method for obtaining tisse characteristics from an optical coherence tomography image.SOLUTION: A method and an apparatus for determining properties of a tissue or tissues imaged by optical coherence tomography (OCT) are provided. In one embodiment, the backscatter and attenuation of an OCT optical beam is measured and based on these measurements and indicium such as color is assigned for each portion of the image corresponding to the specific value of the backscatter and attenuation for that portion. The image is then displayed with the indicia and a user can then determine the tissue characteristics. In an alternative embodiment, the tissue characteristics is classified automatically by a program given the combination of backscatter and attenuation values.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide devices and methods that enable stable, low-noise, and efficient operation of a swept-source OCT (SS-OCT) system at high speed, with continuous real-time image display.SOLUTION: A semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) in a laser ring is chosen to provide low polarization-dependent gain (PDG), and a booster semiconductor optical amplifier outside the optical ring is chosen to provide high polarization-dependent gain. The use of a semiconductor optical amplifier with low polarization-dependent gain nearly eliminates variations in the polarization state of the light at the output of the laser, but does not eliminate the intra-sweep variations in the polarization state at the output of the laser, which can degrade the performance of the SS-OCT system.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To relate to a probe in one aspect.SOLUTION: A probe includes a sheath, a flexible, bi-directionally rotatable, optical subsystem positioned within the sheath, the optical subsystem comprising a transmission fiber, the optical subsystem capable of transmitting and collecting light of a predetermined range of wavelengths along a first beam having a predetermined beam size. The probe also includes an ultrasound subsystem, the ultrasound subsystem positioned within the sheath and adapted to propagate energy of a predetermined range of frequencies along a second beam having a second predetermined beam size, wherein a portion of the first and second beams overlap a region during a scan.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and apparatus for automatically identifying a lumen boundary at one position in a blood vessel in an image of the blood vessel and measuring the diameter of the blood vessel.SOLUTION: A method includes the steps of: generating a mask of the OCT lumen image using a computer; defining a plurality of scan lines in the mask; identifying a region as tissue on each scan line; defining contour segments in response to the plurality of scan lines and the region of tissue on each scan line; identifying valid neighboring contour segments; and interpolating missing contour data between valid neighboring contour segments. The mean diameter of cross-section is calculated either as the diameter of a circle with an area equal to that of the cross section or as the mean of the chord lengths at all angles drawn through the centroid of the lumen cross-section.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging catheter including an integrated reference reflector.SOLUTION: The application is partially concerned with a lens assembly. The lens assembly includes a microlens (86), a beam director (90) optically connected to the microlens and a substantially transparent thin film (94). The substantially transparent thin film bidirectionally transmits light and can generate back scattering of a controlled quantity. Further, the thin film surrounds a part of the beam director. The lens assembly can be used for a sample arm of an OCT system. Back scattering from the thin film can be used for controlling a path length of a reference arm to a path length of a sample arm (namely to detect z offset).