Patent ID: 6790175
Filing Date: 2004-09-14
Classification: A61B,G02B

Abstract:
An endoscope system, comprising:a light guide including a plurality of optical paths; a low-coherent light source that emits low-coherent light beams, said low-coherent light source being provided at a proximal end side of said light guide, the light beams emitted by said low-coherent light source being incident on said plurality of optical paths, respectively; an interferometer unit accommodated in an endoscope, including: a beam splitting element that splits each of the low-coherent beams emitted from a distal end of said light guide and emits one split beam of each of the low-coherent beams to an object; a reference optical system that guides an other split beam of each of the low-coherent beams; a reflector unit that reflects the other split beam of each of the low-coherent beams guided by said reference optical system toward said beam splitting element; and a light detecting device that detects an interfered beam generated by interference, at said beam splitting element, between a beam reflected by the object and the other split beam reflected by said reflector unit; a signal processing system that generates a tomogram based on signals detected by said light detecting device; and a driving unit that moves said entire interferometer unit at least one of towards and away from the object relative to the endoscope.