Patent ID: 7538884

Claim:
An optical tomographic imaging apparatus, comprising: a light source unit having a first light source that outputs a first light beam which is swept in wavelength repeatedly within a first wavelength range, and a second light source that outputs a second light beam which is swept in wavelength repeatedly within a second wavelength range which is different in range from the first wavelength range, in which a part of the wavelength sweep of the first light beam and a part of the wavelength sweep of the second light beam are performed at the same time; a beam splitting means that splits the first and second light beams into first measuring and reference beams, and second measuring and reference beams respectively; a beam combining means that combines first and second reflected beams, which are the reflected beams from a measuring object when the first and second measuring beams are irradiated on the measuring object, with the first and second reference beams respectively; a first interference beam detection means that detects a first interference beam produced when the first reflected beam is combined with the first reference beam by the beam combining means as a first interference signal, a second interference beam detection means that detects a second interference beam produced when the second reflected beam is combined with the second reference beam by the beam combining means as a second interference signal; a tomographic image processing means that generates a tomographic image of the measuring object using the first and second interference signals detected by the first and second interference beam detection means respectively; and a wavelength dividing means that outputs the reflected beams from the measuring object or the interference beams to the side of the first interference beam detection means when the wavelengths thereof are within a third wavelength range, to the side of the second interference beam detection means when the wavelengths thereof are within a fourth wavelength range which is separated from the third wavelength range, or to the side of the first interference beam detection means and the side of the second interference beam detection means when the wavelengths thereof are within a fifth wavelength range between the third and fourth wavelength ranges, wherein: the first wavelength range and/or the second wavelength range includes at least a portion of the fifth wavelength range; and the tomographic image is generated using only the first or second interference signal which is based on a light beam outputted from either one of the first and second light sources while light beams with wavelengths within the fifth wavelength range are outputted from either one of the light sources.