Patents by Inventor Rainer Nebosis

Rainer Nebosis has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9036156
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a device and a corresponding method having a light source (20) for emitting light, an interferometer (10), into which light emitted by the light source (20) is injected, for irradiating a sample (1) with light, and a, in particular spatially resolving, detector (40) for detecting interference patterns obtained by superimposing the light reflected from the sample (1) with a partial beam of the light injected into the interferometer (10) which is reflected at a reference mirror (16) of the interferometer (10). In order to obtain OCT images in the simplest way possible and with the highest possible resolution and image quality, the light source (20) comprises a radiation source (21) for generating spatially incoherent light, and an optical filter (22) with a bell-shaped or Gaussian-shaped spectral filter characteristic for filtering the light generated by the radiation source (21).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2015
    Assignee: Agfa HealthCare NV
    Inventor: Rainer Nebosis
  • Patent number: 8928890
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system for optical coherence tomography having an interferometer (20) which has a beam splitter (24), a reflector (25), an illumination arm (21), a specimen arm (22) and a reference arm (23). In order to increase the compactness of the system with at the same time a high image quality a specimen objective is provided in the specimen arm (22) of the interferometer (20) by means of which light is focussed into a focus lying in or on the specimen (1). Moreover, in the reference arm (23) of the interferometer (20) a reference objective is provided by means of which light is focussed onto the reflector (25). The optical properties of the specimen objective differ from the optical properties of the reference objective.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Agfa HealthCare N.V.
    Inventors: Rainer Nebosis, Rainer Scheunemann, Edgar-Gerald Kopp
  • Patent number: 8908190
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system and a corresponding method for optical coherence tomography having at least one interferometer for emitting light with which a specimen is irradiated, a specimen arm comprising a specimen objective by means of which light emitted by the interferometer is focused in a focus lying within the specimen, a detector for collecting light which is reflected by the specimen, and a control unit for controlling the system such that during the collection alight, which is respectively reflected at different depths of the specimen, the imaging properties of the specimen objective are changed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: Agfa HealthCare NV
    Inventors: Rainer Nebosis, Rainer Scheunemann, Edgar-Gerald Kopp
  • Patent number: 8810797
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system and to a corresponding method for optical coherence tomography having an interferometer (10) for emitting light with which a specimen (1) is irradiated, the interferometer (1) comprising a beam splitter (13) and at least one reflector (12) the optical distance (I) of which from the beam splitter (13) is changeable, and a detector (30) which has a plurality of detector elements arranged in an area by means of which the light which is reflected by the specimen (1) is collected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Agfa Healthcare NV
    Inventors: Rainer Nebosis, Rainer Scheunemann, Edgar-Gerald Kopp
  • Publication number: 20140218740
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method as well as a corresponding system (50) for optical coherence tomography in which a first image (60) is acquired in the region of a first plane of an object (1) by means of an optical coherence tomography equipment, and the first image (60) is displayed on a display device (52). To facilitate a reliable and time-saving examination with straightforward handling, provision is made that a second plane of the object (1) is selected on the basis of the first image (60) that is displayed on the display device (52), wherein the second plane of the object (1) is different from the first plane of the object (1), and a second image (61) is acquired in the region of the selected second plane of the object (1) by means of the optical coherence tomography equipment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2012
    Publication date: August 7, 2014
    Applicant: AGFA HEALTHCARE NV
    Inventors: Rainer Nebosis, Geert Wellens
  • Publication number: 20140204391
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method as well as a corresponding system (50) for optical coherence tomography, where, by means of an optical coherence tomography equipment, a first image (60) is acquired in the region of a first plane of an object (1) and a second image (61) is acquired in the region of a second plane of the object (1), wherein the second plane of the object (1) is different from the first plane of the object (1). To facilitate a reliable and time-saving examination of the object (1), with the most straightforward handling possible, the first image (60) is acquired in the region of the first plane (S) of the object (1) and the second image (61) is acquired in the region of the second plane (F) of the object (1) in real time, and the first image (60) or the second image (61) is rendered as a real time image and the respectively other image, i.e.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2012
    Publication date: July 24, 2014
    Applicant: AGFA HEALTHCARE NV
    Inventors: Rainer Nebosis, Geert Wellens, Wolfgang Schorre
  • Publication number: 20140104619
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system and to a corresponding method for optical coherence tomography having an interferometer (10) for emitting light with which a specimen (1) is irradiated, the interferometer (10) comprising a beam splitter (13) and at least one reflector (12) the optical distance (I) of which from the beam splitter (13) can be changed by an optical path (L), and a detector (30) with a first number of detector elements arranged in a first area for collecting light which is reflected by the specimen (1). In order to be able to record images of a specimen, in particular in real time, more simply and quickly, the system is operated in a first mode in which light reflected by the specimen (1) is only collected by a second number of detector elements of the detector (30) and converted into corresponding detector signals, the second number of detector elements being smaller than the first number of detector elements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2013
    Publication date: April 17, 2014
    Applicant: AGFA HEALTHCARE NV
    Inventor: Rainer Nebosis
  • Patent number: 8665449
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system and to a corresponding method for optical coherence tomography having an interferometer (10) which has a beam splitter (13), a first reflector (11) and a reflector (12) the optical distance (I) of which from the beam splitter (13) is changeable by a speed (v), and a detector (30) for collecting light which is reflected by a specimen (1) to be examined. In order to reduce the times required for the most reliable possible recording of interference patterns, provision is made such that the intensity of the light (14 or 4) injected into the interferometer (10) or emitted by the interferometer (10) is modulated with a modulation frequency (fM) which is not equal to the Doppler frequency (fD), the Doppler frequency (fD) being given by twice the ratio of the speed (v) of the change of the optical distance (I) between the reflector (12) and the beam splitter (13) to the average wavelength (?0) of the injected light (14): fM?fD=2·v/?0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: Agfa HealthCare NV
    Inventors: Rainer Nebosis, Rainer Scheunemann
  • Publication number: 20140049781
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method as well as a corresponding system for optical coherence tomography in which by means of an optical coherence tomography equipment at least two two-dimensional initial images (S) of an object are acquired in planes of the object that are spaced apart from one another, in particular running parallel to one another, wherein the initial images each comprise a plurality of initial image values. In order to assure an examination of the object in the case of medical applications that is as reliable as possible, an interpolation of the initial image values of the at least two two-dimensional initial images (S) is performed in three-dimensional space, wherein interpolation values are obtained that form a two-dimensional final image (S?).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2012
    Publication date: February 20, 2014
    Applicant: AGFA HEALTHCARE NV
    Inventors: Rainer Nebosis, Roland Reuter
  • Publication number: 20140029014
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system and a corresponding method for optical coherence tomography having at least one interferometer for emitting light with which a specimen is irradiated, a specimen arm comprising a specimen objective by means of which light emitted by the interferometer is focussed in a focus lying within the specimen, a detector for collecting light which is reflected by the specimen, and a control unit for controlling the system such that during the collection alight, which is respectively reflected at different depths of the specimen, the imaging properties of the specimen objective are changed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2013
    Publication date: January 30, 2014
    Applicant: Agfa HealthCare NV
    Inventors: Rainer Nebosis, Rainer Scheunemann, Edgar-Gerald Kopp
  • Publication number: 20130342848
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a device and a corresponding method having a light source (20) for emitting light, an interferometer (10), into which light emitted by the light source (20) is injected, for irradiating a sample (1) with light, and a, in particular spatially resolving, detector (40) for detecting interference patterns obtained by superimposing the light reflected from the sample (1) with a partial beam of the light injected into the interferometer (10) which is reflected at a reference mirror (16) of the interferometer (10). In order to obtain OCT images in the simplest way possible and with the highest possible resolution and image quality, the light source (20) comprises a radiation source (21) for generating spatially incoherent light, and an optical filter (22) with a bell-shaped or Gaussian-shaped spectral filter characteristic for filtering the light generated by the radiation source (21).
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2012
    Publication date: December 26, 2013
    Applicant: AGFA HEALTHCARE NV
    Inventor: Rainer Nebosis
  • Patent number: 8593639
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system and to a corresponding method for optical coherence tomography having an interferometer (10) for emitting light with which a specimen (1) is irradiated, the interferometer (10) comprising a beam splitter (13) and at least one reflector (12) the optical distance (I) of which from the beam splitter (13) can be changed by an optical path (L), and a detector (30) with a first number of detector elements arranged in a first area for collecting light which is reflected by the specimen (1). In order to be able to record images of a specimen, in particular in real time, more simply and quickly, the system is operated in a first mode in which light reflected by the specimen (1) is only collected by a second number of detector elements of the detector (30) and converted into corresponding detector signals, the second number of detector elements being smaller than the first number of detector elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2013
    Assignee: Agfa HealthCare NV
    Inventor: Rainer Nebosis
  • Patent number: 8559016
    Abstract: In a method and a system for optical coherence tomography, light, with which a specimen (1) is irradiated, is emitted by an interferometer (10), which comprises a beam splitter (13) and a reflector (12). Light reflected by the specimen (1) is collected by a detector (11), and the reflector (12) is brought into a number of positions at different optical distances away from the beam splitter (13). To record images of a specimen (1) easily and quickly, with high quality, the light reflected by the specimen (1) is collected a number of times by the detector (11) and converted into corresponding detector images, while the reflector (12) in the respective position is in the rest position. An averaged detector image is obtained for each position. A tomogram is generated from the averaged detector images obtained for the different positions of the reflector (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2013
    Assignee: Agfa HealthCare NV
    Inventor: Rainer Nebosis
  • Patent number: 8526006
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system and to a corresponding method for optical coherence tomography having an interferometer (10) for emitting light with which a specimen (1) is irradiated, the interferometer (1) comprising a beam splitter (13) and at least one reflector (12) the optical distance (I) of which from the beam splitter (13) is changeable, a specimen objective by means of which light emitted by the interferometer (10) is focussed in a focus lying within the specimen (1), and a detector (30) for collecting light which is reflected by the specimen (1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: Agfa HealthCare NV
    Inventors: Rainer Nebosis, Rainer Scheunemann, Edgar-Gerald Kopp
  • Patent number: 8339610
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system and to a corresponding method for optical coherence tomography having a light source (15) for producing light (14), a first interferometer (10), a second interferometer (20) and an optical fiber (17) by means of which light emitted by the first interferometer (10) is conveyed to the second interferometer (20). For simpler and more efficient injection of the light emitted by the first interferometer (10) into the optical fiber (17) provision is made such that light is injected into the first interferometer (10) which has a first number of transversal modes, and the optical fiber (17) has at least one multi-mode fiber into which the light passing out of the first interferometer (10) is injected such that in the optical fiber (17) a second number of transversal modes is stimulated which is conveyed to the second interferometer (20), the second number of transversal modes being substantially greater than the first number of transversal modes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: Agfa HealthCare N.V.
    Inventors: Rainer Nebosis, Rainer Scheunemann, Edgar-Gerald Kopp
  • Patent number: 8330962
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system and to a corresponding method for optical coherence tomography having an interferometer (10) and a detector system (30, 31) which comprises a detector (30) for collecting the light reflected by a specimen (1) to be examined and has a sensitivity to the light reflected by the specimen (1). In order to reduce the times required for the most reliable possible recording of interference signals provision is made such that the sensitivity of the detector system (30, 31) to the light reflected by the specimen (1) and impinging on the detector (30) is modulated with a modulation frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: Agfa HealthCare N.V.
    Inventors: Rainer Nebosis, Rainer Scheunemann
  • Patent number: 8199327
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system for optical coherence tomography having an interferometer (20), a detector (30) with a first number of detector elements for collecting light, and an optical fiber (29) with a second number of individual fibers for transmitting light from the interferometer (20) to the detector (30). In order to increase the compactness of the system with at the same time high image quality provision is made such that the detector elements have a first center-center distance and the individual fibers have a second center-center distance, the first center-center distance between the detector elements being greater than the second center-center distance between the individual fibers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2012
    Assignee: Agfa HealthCare NV
    Inventors: Rainer Nebosis, Rainer Scheunemann, Edgar-Gerald Kopp
  • Publication number: 20100149543
    Abstract: A method and to a corresponding system for optical coherence tomography, light, with which a specimen (1) is irradiated, being emitted by an interferometer (10), the interferometer (10) comprising a beam splitter (13) and a reflector (12), light reflected by the specimen (1) being collected by a detector (11), and the reflector (12) being brought into a number of different positions different optical distances away from the beam splitter (13). In order to be able record images of a specimen (1) easily and quickly, with the highest possible quality, provision is made such that light reflected by the specimen (1) is collected a number of times by the detector (11) and converted into corresponding detector images, while the reflector (12) in the respective position is in the rest position. The detector images obtained for the respective position of the reflector (12) are then averaged, for each position an averaged detector image being obtained.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2009
    Publication date: June 17, 2010
    Applicant: Agfa HealthCare N.V.
    Inventor: Rainer Nebosis
  • Publication number: 20100097616
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system and to a corresponding method for optical coherence tomography having an interferometer (10) and a detector system (30, 31) which comprises a detector (30) for collecting the light reflected by a specimen (1) to be examined and has a sensitivity to the light reflected by the specimen (1). In order to reduce the times required for the most reliable possible recording of interference signals provision is made such that the sensitivity of the detector system (30, 31) to the light reflected by the specimen (1) and impinging on the detector (30) is modulated with a modulation frequency.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2008
    Publication date: April 22, 2010
    Applicant: AGFA HEALTHCARE NV
    Inventors: Rainer Nebosis, Rainer Scheunemann
  • Publication number: 20100091295
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system and to a corresponding method for optical coherence tomography having an interferometer (10) for emitting light with which a specimen (1) is irradiated, the interferometer (1) comprising a beam splitter (13) and at least one reflector (12) the optical distance (I) of which from the beam splitter (13) is changeable, and a detector (30) which has a plurality of detector elements arranged in an area by means of which the light which is reflected by the specimen (1) is collected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2008
    Publication date: April 15, 2010
    Applicant: AGFA HEALTHCARE NV
    Inventors: Rainer Nebosis, Rainer Scheunemann, Edgar-Gerald Kopp