Imaging probe
First Claim
1. A method of imaging a portion of a human body, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a radiopharmaceutical to said portion of said human body, said radiopharmaceutical producing radiation;
positioning a detection system proximate to said portion of said human body, wherein said detection system is comprised of a compact and portable detector, wherein said detector comprised of two dimensional plurality of pixels;
determining a direction and an energy for a portion of said radiation entering said detection system from a plurality of pixels;
processing said direction and energy data for said portion of radiation; and
displaying an image in real time of said portion of said human body, wherein said image is based on said processed direction and energy data.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The design of a compact, handheld, solid-state and high-sensitivity imaging probe and a micro imager system is reported. These instruments can be used as a dedicated tool for detecting and locating sentinel lymph nodes and also for detecting and imaging radioactive material. The reported device will use solid state pixel detectors and custom low-noise frontend/readout integrated circuits. The detector will be designed to have excellent image quality and high spatial resolution. The imaging probes have two different embodiments, which are comprised of a pixelated detector array and a highly integrated readout system, which uses a custom multi-channel mixed signal integrated circuit. The instrument usually includes a collimator in front of the detector array so that the incident photons can be imaged. The data is transferred to an intelligent display system. A hyperspectral image can also be produced and displayed. These devices are designed to be portable for easy use.
37 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of imaging a portion of a human body, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a radiopharmaceutical to said portion of said human body, said radiopharmaceutical producing radiation;
positioning a detection system proximate to said portion of said human body, wherein said detection system is comprised of a compact and portable detector, wherein said detector comprised of two dimensional plurality of pixels;
determining a direction and an energy for a portion of said radiation entering said detection system from a plurality of pixels;
processing said direction and energy data for said portion of radiation; and
displaying an image in real time of said portion of said human body, wherein said image is based on said processed direction and energy data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A medical imaging system for imaging a portion of a living organism, said portion treated with a radiopharmaceutical said radiopharmaceutical emitting radiation, comprising:
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a detector comprised of a plurality of two-dimensional pixels, wherein an entrance aperture of said detector is external to said living organism and proximate to said portion of said living organism, wherein said emitted radiation enter into said detector and are absorbed within said detector;
a multi channel readout system coupled to at least one said pixel of said detector;
a processor coupled to said multi-channel readout system; and
a monitor coupled to said processor, said monitor displaying an image of radiation coming from the said portion of said living organism in real time. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification