Apparatus for the non-invasive measurement of tissue function and metabolism by determination of steady-state fluorescence anisotropy
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for non-invasively evaluating human tissue comprising:
- a stimulator configured to stimulate a resting tissue to change its metabolism and become a stimulated tissue;
a light source configured to irradiate the resting and stimulated tissue with polarized light so as to cause an endogenous fluorophor in the tissue to fluoresce;
a determination module configured to determine a resting steady-state fluorescence anisotropy of emitted fluorescence in the resting tissue and a stimulated steady-state fluorescence anisotropy of emitted fluorescence in the stimulated tissue; and
a computing module configured to;
construct a resting fluorescence anisotropy map based on the resting steady-state fluorescence anisotropy and a stimulated fluorescence anisotropy map based on the stimulated steady-state fluorescence anisotropy;
determine a functional capacity of the tissue by subtracting the resting fluorescence anisotropy map from the stimulated fluorescence anisotropy map; and
compare the functional capacity of the tissue to a functional capacity of a control tissue similarly evaluated to identify a tissue dysfunction.
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Abstract
A non-invasive measurement of biological tissue reveals information about the function of that tissue. Polarized light is directed onto the tissue, stimulating the emission of fluorescence, due to one or more endogenous fluorophors in the tissue. Fluorescence anisotropy is then calculated. Such measurements of fluorescence anisotropy are then used to assess the functional status of the tissue, and to identify the existence and severity of disease states. Such assessment can be made by comparing a fluorescence anisotropy profile with a known profile of a control.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. An apparatus for non-invasively evaluating human tissue comprising:
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a stimulator configured to stimulate a resting tissue to change its metabolism and become a stimulated tissue; a light source configured to irradiate the resting and stimulated tissue with polarized light so as to cause an endogenous fluorophor in the tissue to fluoresce; a determination module configured to determine a resting steady-state fluorescence anisotropy of emitted fluorescence in the resting tissue and a stimulated steady-state fluorescence anisotropy of emitted fluorescence in the stimulated tissue; and a computing module configured to; construct a resting fluorescence anisotropy map based on the resting steady-state fluorescence anisotropy and a stimulated fluorescence anisotropy map based on the stimulated steady-state fluorescence anisotropy; determine a functional capacity of the tissue by subtracting the resting fluorescence anisotropy map from the stimulated fluorescence anisotropy map; and compare the functional capacity of the tissue to a functional capacity of a control tissue similarly evaluated to identify a tissue dysfunction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for non-invasively evaluating human tissue comprising:
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stimulating a resting tissue to change its metabolism and become a stimulated tissue; irradiating the resting and stimulated tissue with polarized light so as to cause an endogenous fluorophor in the tissue to fluoresce; determining a resting steady-state fluorescence anisotropy of emitted fluorescence in the resting tissue and a stimulated steady-state fluorescence anisotropy of emitted fluorescence in the stimulated tissue; constructing a resting fluorescence anisotropy map based on the resting steady-state fluorescence anisotropy and a stimulated fluorescence anisotropy map based on the stimulated steady-state fluorescence anisotropy; determining a functional capacity of the tissue by subtracting the resting fluorescence anisotropy map from the stimulated fluorescence anisotropy map; and comparing the functional capacity of the tissue to a functional capacity of a control tissue similarly evaluated to identify a tissue dysfunction. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification