Patent ID: 8810796

Claim:
A method of processing light, comprising: a. receiving a first portion of light from a source of said light; b. masking a portion of said first portion of said light so as to form a masked first portion of said light so as to prevent said portion of said first portion of said light from propagating with a remainder of said first portion of said light in said masked first portion of said light; c. receiving at least one second portion of said light, wherein said at least one second portion of said light is subject to scattering by a medium from a corresponding at least one interaction region of said medium, said at least one second portion of said light is generated by said source of said light prior to being subject to said scattering by said medium, and said first portion of said light is not subject to said scattering by said medium from said at least one interaction region of said medium; d. combining said masked first portion of said light with said at least one second portion of said light along a substantially common direction of propagation; e. generating a first interference pattern from said masked first portion of said light; and f. generating at least one second interference pattern from said at least one second portion of said light, wherein said masked first portion of said light is configured so that said first and said at least one second interference patterns are substantially mutually exclusive, and said first interference pattern would otherwise overlap said at least one second interference pattern if the operation of combining was performed absent the operation of masking said portion of said first portion of said light.