Patent ID: 7256894
Filing Date: 2007-08-14
Classification: A61B,G01N

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for second harmonic optical coherence tomography of a sample comprising: a light source; an interferometer having an optical path in a reference arm and in a sample arm; a nonlinear crystal in the optical path of the reference arm, the sample having at least some second harmonic backscattering of light from the light source and being in the optical path of the sample arm; a broadband beam splitter optically coupled to the reference arm and sample arm, combines the signals in the reference arm and sample arm into interference fringes; a dichroic beam splitter optically coupled to the broadband beam splitter to split the interference fringes into a fundamental and second harmonic interference signal; and a detector optically coupled to the dichroic beam splitter for detecting interference fringes.