Time-resolved non-invasive optometric device for medical diagnostic
First Claim
1. A method for non-invasively probing the inner structure of the skin of a patient, comprising:
- directing an excitation pulse at a region of the patient'"'"'s skin;
exciting a portion of the patient'"'"'s skin as a result of the excitation pulse at the region to generate a fluorescence signal indicative of the composition of the patient'"'"'s skin;
detecting the fluorescence signal generated by the excitation pulse;
measuring an intensity decay of the fluorescence signal as a function of time to detect development of a metabolic disease affecting the patient;
measuring the reflectance of the excitation pulse;
measuring the transmittance of the excitation pulse; and
wherein the transmittance, reflectance, and time-resolved fluorescence measurements are performed simultaneously;
wherein the transmittance, reflectance, and time-resolved fluorescence measurements are calculated using an inverse marching method.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A time-resolved fluorescence device is described for the detection and diagnosis of various metabolic diseases in a noninvasive or minimally invasive manner. The device uses an ultra-short excitation pulse that comprises of a repetition of nanosecond pulses. The excitation pulse is directed incident onto a strategically selected area of the patient body such as the forearm, the feet, and the palm. This light interacts with the different layers of the skin. The absorbed light excites conditions of interest in the skin, which in turn generate a fluorescence signal, which is collected by a detector. A processor is coupled to the detector to measure the transient fluorescence intensity decay of the skin in terms of lifetimes, and the contribution of individual fluorophores to the overall fluorescence signal.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for non-invasively probing the inner structure of the skin of a patient, comprising:
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directing an excitation pulse at a region of the patient'"'"'s skin; exciting a portion of the patient'"'"'s skin as a result of the excitation pulse at the region to generate a fluorescence signal indicative of the composition of the patient'"'"'s skin; detecting the fluorescence signal generated by the excitation pulse; measuring an intensity decay of the fluorescence signal as a function of time to detect development of a metabolic disease affecting the patient; measuring the reflectance of the excitation pulse; measuring the transmittance of the excitation pulse; and wherein the transmittance, reflectance, and time-resolved fluorescence measurements are performed simultaneously; wherein the transmittance, reflectance, and time-resolved fluorescence measurements are calculated using an inverse marching method. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for non-invasively probing the inner structure of the skin of a patient, comprising:
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directing an excitation pulse at a region of the patient'"'"'s skin; exciting a portion of the patient'"'"'s skin as a result of the excitation pulse at the region to generate a fluorescence signal indicative of the composition of the patient'"'"'s skin; detecting the fluorescence signal generated by the excitation pulse; measuring an intensity decay of the fluorescence signal as a function of time to detect development of a metabolic disease affecting the patient; measuring the reflectance of the excitation pulse; measuring the transmittance of the excitation pulse; wherein the transmittance, reflectance, and time-resolved fluorescence measurements are performed simultaneously; and wherein the transmittance, reflectance, and time-resolved fluorescence measurements are calculated by approximating photon paths from the detector to the source of the photons. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification