Fluorometers
First Claim
1. Apparatus to be worn on the body for the production and detection of fluorescence at or below a skin surface, said apparatus comprising:
- a light source for directing fluorescence excitation light along a light path extending over said skin surface;
a reflector having a three dimensionally curved, shell-like light reflecting interface positioned to receive light from the light source passing over said skin surface along a portion of said light path and to reflect said light transversely with respect to said portion of the light path so as to focus said light on an illumination zone at or below said skin surface for stimulation of fluorescence at said zone, and to collect fluorescence light emitted at said zone and to reflect and at least partially collimate said light to pass back along said portion of the light path;
a detector for receiving said light emitted as fluorescence after reflection at said interface, and a housing containing the light source, detector and reflector, which housing is configured to be worn on the body, wherein said reflector interface substantially has the form of a partial paraboloid, aspheric, toroidal, or biconic surface, and wherein said reflector interface is defined by an equation wherein;
c is from 0.07 to 0.5 and k is from −
1.5 to −
0.7. where z is the “
sag”
of z-coordinate along the rotational axis, c is the curvature (the reciprocal of the radius R), k is the conical constant and r is the radial coordinate.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In apparatus for the production and detection of fluorescence at a sample surface, the height of the apparatus above the sample surface is reduced, and loss of the emitted fluorescence due to reflection loss and light scattering is minimized. The apparatus comprises a three-dimensionally curved light reflecting surface (40) that directs light from a light source (32) transversely to its original path and focuses the light on to an illumination zone (30) at or below the sample surface. The reflecting surface (40) also collects, directs and at least partially collimates emitted fluorescence transversely to its original path and towards a detector (46).
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. Apparatus to be worn on the body for the production and detection of fluorescence at or below a skin surface, said apparatus comprising:
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a light source for directing fluorescence excitation light along a light path extending over said skin surface; a reflector having a three dimensionally curved, shell-like light reflecting interface positioned to receive light from the light source passing over said skin surface along a portion of said light path and to reflect said light transversely with respect to said portion of the light path so as to focus said light on an illumination zone at or below said skin surface for stimulation of fluorescence at said zone, and to collect fluorescence light emitted at said zone and to reflect and at least partially collimate said light to pass back along said portion of the light path; a detector for receiving said light emitted as fluorescence after reflection at said interface, and a housing containing the light source, detector and reflector, which housing is configured to be worn on the body, wherein said reflector interface substantially has the form of a partial paraboloid, aspheric, toroidal, or biconic surface, and wherein said reflector interface is defined by an equation wherein; c is from 0.07 to 0.5 and k is from −
1.5 to −
0.7. where z is the “
sag”
of z-coordinate along the rotational axis, c is the curvature (the reciprocal of the radius R), k is the conical constant and r is the radial coordinate.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification