Light measurement system for living body

• US 20050288592A1
• Filed: 01/27/2005
• Published: 12/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi
• Application Number:
  US11/043,164
• Publication Number:
  US 20050288592A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/473
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0233 Special features of optical sensors or probes classified in A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/046 in a matrix array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0042 for the brain
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14553 specially adapted for cerebral tissue

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for measuring light in a living body and capable of discriminating the size in activation brain areas. Two diamond-shaped probes alternately installed spatially for a light source or a light detector, and a second light source or light detector are installed between a first light source or light detector and an image is reconstructed utilizing all the sampling points, and whether or not the largest position on the reconstructed image is in proximity to the first or the second sampling point is determined, and an image is reconstructed from those results using only the position information from the first or the second sampling point. The difference in the sizes of the activation brain area can be displayed as an image, and an increased amount of information can be acquired from results measuring the metabolic substance concentration within a living body.

Claims

1. A measurement method utilized in a light measurement device for a living body to irradiate light onto a subject, receive the light propagated from within the subject, and measure the fluctuation in the metabolic substance concentration within the subject, the method comprising:

a first step for installing multiple first and a second sensor arrays including two or more light sources and two or more light detectors on the subject;

a second step for calculating the maximum position of the fluctuation in the metabolic substance concentration measured by the first and second sensor arrays;

a third step for calculating whether the maximum position is nearer the sampling point of the first sensor array, or the sampling point of the second sensor array; and

a fourth step for measuring the change in the metabolic substance concentration by utilizing the first or the second sensor arrays including a sampling point calculated to be in proximity to the maximum position of the third step.

2. A measurement method for measuring light from a living body according to claim 1, wherein the first and the second sensor arrays include multiple light sources and multiple light emitters installed at alternate positions in a lattice shape.

3. A measurement method for measuring light from a living body according to claim 2, wherein the light sources and the light detectors are respectively installed at equivalent intervals.

4. A measurement method for measuring light from a living body according to claim 2, wherein the lattice is a diamond shape.

5. A measurement method for measuring light from a living body according to claim 2, wherein the first sensor array is installed so that the first sensor array light sources or the light detectors are installed on the sampling points of the second sensor array.

6. A measurement method for measuring light from a living body according to claim 1, further including a step for selecting the first sensor array or the second sensor array, or both the first sensor array and the second sensor array for measuring the fluctuation in the concentration of the metabolic substances.

7. A measurement method for measuring light from a living body according to claim 1, including a fifth step for making an image of the distribution in the change in the metabolic substance concentration from the change in the metabolic substance concentration acquired in the fourth step.

8. A measurement method for measuring light from a living body according to claim 1, wherein the sampling point is the approximate center point between the light source and the light detector.

9. A light measurement device for a living body comprising:

a light source to irradiate light on the subject;

a light detector to detect light that propagated through the subject;

a first and a second sensor arrays including multiple light sources and multiple light detectors; and

a processing means for processing the change in the metabolic substance concentration within the subject from the light detected by the light detector, wherein

the processing means calculates the maximum position of the change in metabolic substance concentration measured by the first and the second sensor arrays, and

calculates whether the maximum position is nearer the sampling point of the first sensor array, or the sampling point of the second sensor array, and

calculates the change in the metabolic substance concentration by utilizing the first or the second sensor arrays including a sampling point calculated to be in proximity to the maximum position.

10. A light measurement device according to claim 9, wherein the first and the second sensor arrays include multiple light sources and multiple light detectors installed at alternate positions in a lattice shape.

11. A light measurement device according to claim 9, wherein the light sources and the light detectors are installed respectively equivalent distances.

12. A light measurement device according to claim 10, wherein the lattice is a diamond shape.

13. A light measurement device according to claim 10, wherein the first sensor array is installed so that the first sensor array light sources or the light detectors are installed on the sampling points of the second sensor array.

14. A light measurement device according to claim 9, comprising an image display means to show the distribution of the change in metabolic substance concentration.

15. A light measurement device according to claim 9, wherein the sampling point is the approximate center point between the light source and the light detector.