Patent ID: 7508525

Claim:
An interferometer for use in an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system comprising: a light source; a 3×3 coupler having six ports, with light from the source being coupled to a first port of the coupler, with the coupler dividing the light between a sample and a reference path, with the light exiting the coupler into the sample path from a second port and, after scattering from the sample, returning to the coupler via a third port and with the light exiting the coupler into the reference path from a fourth port and returning to the coupler via said fourth port; a first detector for receiving light returned from both the sample and the reference paths via the coupler through a fifth port of the coupler and generating first output signals in response thereto; and a second detector for receiving light returned from both the sample and the reference paths via the coupler through a sixth port of the coupler and generating second output signals in response thereto, said first and second output signals containing information about the light scattering properties of the sample.