APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A NONINVASIVE DIAGNOSIS OF INTERNAL BLEEDING

• US 20080234567A1
• Filed: 03/19/2008
• Published: 09/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: The General Hospital Corporation (Mass General Brigham, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The General Hospital Corporation (Mass General Brigham, Inc.)
• Inventors: Vakoc, Benjamin J., Tearney, Guillermo J., Bouma, Brett E., Velmahos, George
• Application Number:
  US12/051,315
• Publication Number:
  US 20080234567A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/407
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0059 using light, e.g. diagnosis by transillumination, diascopy, fluorescence A61B5/0093, A61B5/1455, A61B5/02416 and A61B5/0261 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0066 Optical coherence imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0095 by applying light and detecting acoustic waves, i.e. photoacoustic measurements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/416 the spleen

Abstract

Exemplary apparatus and process can be provided for determining at least one characteristic of an anatomical structure. For example, it is possible to generate an acoustic wave in the anatomical structure using an opto-accoustic arrangement It is then possible to detect the acoustic wave and determine whether at least one blood pool is present at or in the anatomical structure as a function of at least one property of the acoustic wave. Further, it is possible to forward at least one first electro-magnetic radiation to at least one tissue of the anatomical structure, detect at least one second electro-magnetic radiation provided from the at least one tissue based on a motion of or within the at least one tissue to generate detection data, and determine the at least one characteristic of the at least one portion based on the detection data.

Claims

1. An apparatus for determining at least one characteristic of an anatomical structure, comprising:

a first opto-accoustic arrangement which is configured to cause a generation of an acoustic wave in the anatomical structure; and

a second arrangement which is configured to detect the acoustic wave and determine whether at least one blood pool is present at or in the anatomical structure as a function of at least one property of the acoustic wave.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second arrangement is at least one interferometric arrangement.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the interferometric arrangement is an arrangement which receives at least one radiation from the at least one anatomical structure and interferes the at least one radiation with a further radiation received from a reference.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the interferometric arrangement is further configured to detect a relative phase between the at least one radiation and the further radiation.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the relative phase is a sideband of a fundamental frequency.

6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second arrangement is configured to detect the at least one characteristic as a function of the relative phase between the at least one radiation and the further radiation.

7. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the interferometric arrangement is an arrangement which receives at least one radiation from the anatomical structure and interferes the at least one radiation with an additional radiation received from the anatomical structure.

8. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the blood pool is provided in at least one of a Morrison'"'"'s pouch, a spelenorenal space or a pelvis.

9. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first and second arrangements are provided in a hand-held device.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the first arrangement irradiates different portions of the anatomical structure to reconstruct a location of at least one tissue of interest.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the second arrangement generates an image of at least one portion of the tissue based on the at least one characteristic.

12. A method for determining at least one characteristic of an anatomical structure, comprising:

generating an acoustic wave in the anatomical structure in the anatomical structure using an opto-accoustic arrangement; and

detecting the acoustic wave and determining whether at least one blood pool is present at or in the anatomical structure as a function of at least one property of the acoustic wave.

13. An apparatus for determining at least one characteristic of at least one portion of an anatomical structure, comprising:

a first opto-accoustic arrangement which is configured to cause a generation of an acoustic wave in the anatomical structure; and

a second arrangement which is configured to (i) forward at least one first electro-magnetic radiation to at least one tissue of the anatomical structure, (ii) detect at least one second electro-magnetic radiation provided from the at least one tissue based on a motion of or within the at least one tissue to generate detection data, and (iii) determine the at least one characteristic of the at least one portion based on the detection data.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the at least one portion includes a blood pool.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the second arrangement is at least one interferometric arrangement.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the interferometric arrangement is an arrangement which receives at least one radiation from the at least one anatomical structure and interferes the at least one radiation with a further radiation received from a reference.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the interferometric arrangement is further configured to detect a relative phase between the at least one radiation and the further radiation.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the relative phase is a sideband of a fundamental frequency.

19. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the second arrangement is configured to detect the at least one characteristic as a function of the relative phase between the at least one radiation and the further radiation.

20. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the interferometric arrangement is an arrangement which receives at least one radiation from the anatomical structure and interferes the at least one radiation with an additional radiation received from the anatomical structure.

21. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the blood pool is provided in at least one of a Morrison'"'"'s pouch, a spelenorenal space or a pelvis.

22. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the first and second arrangements are provided in a hand-held device.

23. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the first arrangement irradiates different portions of the anatomical structure to reconstruct a location of at least one tissue of interest.

24. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the second arrangement generates an image of at least one portion of the tissue based on the at least one characteristic.

25. A method for determining at least one characteristic of at least one portion of an anatomical structure, comprising:

generating an acoustic wave in the anatomical structure using an opto-accoustic arrangement;

forwarding at least one first electro-magnetic radiation to at least one tissue of the anatomical structure;

detecting at least one second electro-magnetic radiation provided from the at least one tissue based on a motion of or within the at least one tissue to generate detection data; and

determining the at least one characteristic of the at least one portion based on the detection data.