METHOD OF SCREENING FOR CANCER USING PARAMETERS OBTAINED BY THE DETECTION OF EARLY INCREASE IN MICROVASCULAR BLOOD CONTENT
First Claim
1. A method of providing an indication that living tissue within an entire colon of a human body may be abnormal comprising the steps of:
- inserting a probe such that a light source within the probe is disposed in a location that is at an inner surface of a distal part of the colon;
illuminating, at the location, tissue of the inner surface of the distal part of the colon and microvasculature within a mucosal layer therein with light from the light source that is emitted from the probe, wherein the tissue that is illuminated with the light does not contain the living tissue that may be abnormal;
detecting interacted light that results from the step of illuminating the tissue as detected data using the probe, wherein the interacted light is obtained substantially from the light that then interacts with blood in the microvasculature of the mucosal layer that is within the tissue of the distal part of the colon, which tissue does not contain the living tissue that may be abnormal;
estimating effective blood vessel size in the microvasculature using the detected data; and
obtaining the indication that the living tissue within the entire colon may be abnormal using the estimated effective blood vessel size.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention, in one aspect, relates to screening test for tumors or lesions using what is referred to as “Early Increase in microvascular Blood Supply” (EIBS) that exists in tissues that are close to, but are not themselves, the abnormal tissue and in tissues that precede the development of such lesions or tumors. While the abnormal tissue can be a lesion or tumor, the abnormal tissue can also be tissue that precedes formation of a lesion or tumor, such as a precancerous adenoma, aberrant crypt foci, tissues that precede the development of dysplastic lesions that themselves do not yet exhibit dysplastic phenotype, and tissues in the vicinity of these lesions or pre-dysplastic tissues.
70 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of providing an indication that living tissue within an entire colon of a human body may be abnormal comprising the steps of:
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inserting a probe such that a light source within the probe is disposed in a location that is at an inner surface of a distal part of the colon; illuminating, at the location, tissue of the inner surface of the distal part of the colon and microvasculature within a mucosal layer therein with light from the light source that is emitted from the probe, wherein the tissue that is illuminated with the light does not contain the living tissue that may be abnormal; detecting interacted light that results from the step of illuminating the tissue as detected data using the probe, wherein the interacted light is obtained substantially from the light that then interacts with blood in the microvasculature of the mucosal layer that is within the tissue of the distal part of the colon, which tissue does not contain the living tissue that may be abnormal; estimating effective blood vessel size in the microvasculature using the detected data; and obtaining the indication that the living tissue within the entire colon may be abnormal using the estimated effective blood vessel size. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification