Patent Document ID: 20030199769
Application ID: 10117322
Patent Status: 0

Claim One:
1. Apparatus for high resolution imaging of a moving object located at an object location, comprising: a source of low coherence light; an imaging instrument for scanning an object to be scanned, said imaging system being chosen from the group consisting of an optical coherence tomography imaging instrument and a dual channel optical coherence tomography/confocal imaging instrument: transverse scanning means to effect transverse scanning of the object; an interferometer in said respective optical coherence tomography imaging instrument; depth adjustment means comprising electronically controllable optical path altering means for altering the optical path difference in said interferometer; interface optics for transferring an optical beam from the respective transverse scanning means of said optical imaging system to said object located at said object location, and for transferring an optical output beam reflected and scattered from said object back to said optical imaging system; a first sensing block for sensing the axial position of said object, and optionally a second sensing block for sensing the transverse position of said object; a splitting element shared by said first sensing block, whereby the interface optics and said first sensing block have a common axis of the light being transmitted to and from the object; timing means for establishing a timing reference for taking a series of images of the object, and for establishing timing intervals and reference times for said images as they are taken; and processing means for determining the acceptability of each scanned image according to predetermined criteria; wherein a series of en-face OCT images, or pairs of en-face OCT and confocal images of the object at different depths, are taken by altering the optical path difference in said interferometer.