Medical diagnostic system and related method
First Claim
1. A medical tissue investigation system comprising:
- support means for supporting a patient in a predetermined position;
generating means for generating electromagnetic energy having a predetermined plurality of wavelengths;
focusing means disposed between said generating means and said support means for focusing said energy at a predetermined point internal to the patient supported on said support means;
photodetector means disposed proximately to said support means for detecting electromagnetic radiation emitted from organic cellular material at said predetermined point in response to excitation of said cellular material by said energy upon focusing thereof on said predetermined point by said focusing means; and
computer means operatively connected to said photodetector means for determining a spectral output of said organic cellular material.
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Abstract
In a medical diagnostic method a patient is supported in a predetermined position and microwave energy is focused on a predetermined target region in the patient to produce a burst of photoluminescence. Electromagnetic radiation emitted from organic cellular material at the focal point or the microwave radiation is automatically detected. In a subsequent step, a spectral output of the organic cellular material is automatically determined from electromagnetic radiation received from the radiation focal point through the patient during the step of detecting. In addition, a diagnosis of the excited cellular material is automatically implemented based on the results of the spectral analysis.
95 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A medical tissue investigation system comprising:
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support means for supporting a patient in a predetermined position; generating means for generating electromagnetic energy having a predetermined plurality of wavelengths; focusing means disposed between said generating means and said support means for focusing said energy at a predetermined point internal to the patient supported on said support means; photodetector means disposed proximately to said support means for detecting electromagnetic radiation emitted from organic cellular material at said predetermined point in response to excitation of said cellular material by said energy upon focusing thereof on said predetermined point by said focusing means; and computer means operatively connected to said photodetector means for determining a spectral output of said organic cellular material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A medical tissue investigation method comprising the steps of:
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supporting a patient in a predetermined position; generating electromagnetic energy having a predetermined plurality of wavelengths; focusing said energy at a predetermined point internal to the patient; transmitting said energy through the patient to said predetermined point; automatically detecting electromagnetic radiation emitted from organic cellular material at said predetermined point in response to excitation of said cellular material by said energy upon focusing thereof on said predetermined point; and automatically determining a spectral output of said organic cellular material from electromagnetic radiation received from said predetermined point through the patient during said step of detecting. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification