SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING TISSUE CHARACTERISTICS
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Abstract
An apparatus to interrogate, receive, and analyze full emission spectra for at least one fluorescence excitation wavelength and for at least one reflectance measurement to determine tissue characteristics. The apparatus includes a base unit having illumination, detection and control sub-units, the illumination sub-unit providing illumination optical energy for illuminating a target tissue and the detection sub-unit detecting tissue characteristics of a target tissue, a separate tissue interface unit, and a pathway coupling the base unit and the tissue interface unit. The system and apparatus may also include a tube for maintaining the distance between the tissue and units and for surrounding the tissue to prevent patient movement from being transmitted to the tissue.
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Citations
82 Claims
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1-63. -63. (canceled)
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64. An apparatus for determining tissue characteristics which indicate the presence of cancerous or pre-cancerous tissue on a patient cervix, comprising:
- a base unit comprising a unit having a tissue illumination, tissue excitation and detection capable of detecting responses in the tissue from the same side, a fixation stand off tube of predetermined length selected for optimal interrogation of the cervix, said tube being interposed between said unit and the tissue to maintain alignment and focus with the tissue, said tube being of such diameter that it surrounds, the cervix entirely so that the tube maintains a fixed distance between the cervix and the units and so that any movement of the patient during tissue interrogation is not transmitted to the cervix so that the cervix and tube are fixed together during interrogation with the cervix surrounded by the inner periphery of the tube and whereby no portion of the interrogated tissue is blanched by the tube, said tube having a non reflective inner surface.
- View Dependent Claims (65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72)
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73. An apparatus for determining tissue characteristics which indicate the presence of cancerous or pre-cancerous tissue on a patient cervix, comprising:
- a base unit comprising an illumination unit, a separate tissue interface unit comprising an excitation unit for delivering illumination from the illumination unit to the tissue and a detection unit capable of detecting responses in the tissue resulting from the illumination, said excitation and detection units being confocal and facing the tissue from the same side so that they converge at the tissue;
wherein said illuminating and detecting units are spaced from the tissue and configured to illuminate said tissue in a structured illumination pattern comprising; a tissue illuminator configured to simultaneously illuminate tissue along a band of spaced apart, generally a row of simultaneously illuminated points and measuring optical energy received from each of said points at the same time, a line shifter configured to incrementally shift said line of points generally across the tissue, illuminating a new portion of the tissue, offset from the previous illuminated row of points, and measuring optical energy received from said points, to create a horizontal and vertical matrix of sequentially illuminated measured row of points, said points being sufficiently spaced apart along said line to minimize cross talk illumination between said points; a diffraction grating aligned to receive said measured optical energy to create a first order spectra for measured points for determining which points on the tissue are abnormal by comparing spectral characteristics of vertically adjacent points. - View Dependent Claims (74, 75)
- a base unit comprising an illumination unit, a separate tissue interface unit comprising an excitation unit for delivering illumination from the illumination unit to the tissue and a detection unit capable of detecting responses in the tissue resulting from the illumination, said excitation and detection units being confocal and facing the tissue from the same side so that they converge at the tissue;
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76. A method of detecting cancerous or pre-cancerous cervical tissue by making time successive measurements of a patient cervix while minimizing movement and the affects of movement of the target tissue during a measurement of tissue characteristics, comprising the steps of:
surrounding the cervix with a hollow tube having an inner diameter at least as great as the patient cervix thereby surrounding the periphery of the cervix without substantially contacting the cervical target area, so that the optical characteristics of the cervix are not affected by the blanching effect of contact therewith. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82)
Specification