Apparatus and method for determining tissue characteristics
First Claim
1. An instrument for determining characteristics of a target material:
- comprising;
an outer housing;
an inner core that is rotatably mounted within the outer housing;
a plurality of interrogation devices mounted on the inner core in a predetermined pattern; and
a detent mechanism attached to the inner core, wherein the detent mechanism is configured to allow the inner core to be rotated between a plurality of predetermined rotational positions relative to the outer housing; and
wherein stops are formed on an inner surface of the outer housing, and wherein the detent mechanism comprises at least one detent mount that is attached to the inner core and that is configured to interact with the stops to hold the inner core in the plurality of predetermined rotational positions.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method embodying the invention include utilizing a device with a limited number of interrogation devices to accomplish a large number of measurements on a target tissue (50). An instrument embodying the invention includes a plurality of detection devices (54) that are arranged in a predetermined pattern on a tissue contacting face of the instrument. The face of the instrument is located adjacent the target tissue (50), and a plurality of tissue characteristic measurement are simultaneously conducted. The detection devices (54) are moved to a new position, preferably without moving the tissue contacting face, and a second plurality of tissue characteristic measurements are simultaneously conducted. By conducting a series of measurements cycles in this manner, the ultimate resolution of the device is increased, while still obtaining a given resolution, which reduces potential cross-talk errors. Further, a plurality of tissue characteristics are simultaneously obtained from locations spaced across the target tissue (50) during each measurement cycle.
118 Citations
17 Claims
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1. An instrument for determining characteristics of a target material:
- comprising;
an outer housing; an inner core that is rotatably mounted within the outer housing; a plurality of interrogation devices mounted on the inner core in a predetermined pattern; and a detent mechanism attached to the inner core, wherein the detent mechanism is configured to allow the inner core to be rotated between a plurality of predetermined rotational positions relative to the outer housing; and wherein stops are formed on an inner surface of the outer housing, and wherein the detent mechanism comprises at least one detent mount that is attached to the inner core and that is configured to interact with the stops to hold the inner core in the plurality of predetermined rotational positions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
- comprising;
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14. A method of detecting characteristics of a target material, comprising the steps of:
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positioning a plurality of interrogation devices that are arranged in a pattern adjacent a first plurality of interrogation positions on a target material; exciting at least a portion of the target material; detecting characteristics of the target material at the first plurality of interrogation positions in response to excitation; within a housing, sequentially positioning the capture of the plurality of interrogation devices so that they are adjacent at least one additional plurality of interrogation positions on the target material, wherein the first and at least one additional plurality of positions are not coincident; and sequentially detecting characteristics of the target material at the at least one additional plurality of interrogation positions. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. An instrument for determining characteristics of a target material, comprising:
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an outer housing; an excitation device capable of providing excitation energy to a target material; an interrogation device capable of determining characteristics of a target material at a plurality of predetermined transmitting and interrogation locations arranged in a predetermined pattern; and a positioner to adjust the detector for selectively reading tissue characteristics at different interrogation locations amongst a plurality of precisely predetermined positions relative to the outer housing; a sequencer for activating the excitation and interrogation devices and said positioner so that the target material excited and interrogated in adjacent positions sequentially to determine characteristics of a target material at a plurality of adjacent interrogations locations, and wherein none of the interrogation locations are coincident but close enough, that if interrogated simultaneously, would not experience cross-talk between said locations.
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17. A method of detecting characteristics of a target material, comprising the steps of:
- positioning at least one excitation device and plurality of interrogation devices arranged in a pattern adjacent a first plurality of interrogation positions on a target material;
exciting the target;
detecting characteristics of the target material at the first plurality of interrogation positions;
sequentially re-aiming the plurality of interrogation devices within a housing so that they are adjacent at least one additional plurality of interrogation positions on the target material, wherein the first and at least one additional plurality of positions are not coincident but are sufficiently close that, if interrogated simultaneously would not experience cross-talk therebetween; and
detecting characteristics of the target material at the at least one additional plurality of interrogation positions.
- positioning at least one excitation device and plurality of interrogation devices arranged in a pattern adjacent a first plurality of interrogation positions on a target material;
Specification