Raman spectral analysis of sub-surface tissues and fluids
First Claim
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1. A method of determining, in vivo, one or more characteristics of a sub-surface tissue or fluid, through a diffusely scattering overlying tissue, comprising steps of:
- (a) supplying incident light as a continuous wave laser beam at one or more entry regions on a surface of the overlying tissue;
(b) collecting, from one or more collection regions on the surface of the overlying tissue, light produced by scattering of said incident light within the overlying tissue, wherein the one or more collection regions on the surface are located at a plurality of spacings from the one or more entry regions on the surface;
(c) detecting using a detector, in the collected light, a plurality of Raman features for said plurality of spacings, wherein one or more of the Raman features corresponds to each different spacing, said Raman features being spectrally related to the incident light and originating from the sub-surface tissue; and
(d) determining said characteristics of the sub-surface tissue or fluid from said Raman features.
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Abstract
Apparatus and methods for determining, in-vivo, characteristics of sub-surface tissues or fluids in the human or animal body are disclosed. Incident radiation is supplied at one or more entry regions on a surface, and light is collected from one or more collection regions spaced from the entry regions. Raman features are detected in the collected light and depth related information derived therefrom.
70 Citations
66 Claims
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1. A method of determining, in vivo, one or more characteristics of a sub-surface tissue or fluid, through a diffusely scattering overlying tissue, comprising steps of:
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(a) supplying incident light as a continuous wave laser beam at one or more entry regions on a surface of the overlying tissue; (b) collecting, from one or more collection regions on the surface of the overlying tissue, light produced by scattering of said incident light within the overlying tissue, wherein the one or more collection regions on the surface are located at a plurality of spacings from the one or more entry regions on the surface; (c) detecting using a detector, in the collected light, a plurality of Raman features for said plurality of spacings, wherein one or more of the Raman features corresponds to each different spacing, said Raman features being spectrally related to the incident light and originating from the sub-surface tissue; and (d) determining said characteristics of the sub-surface tissue or fluid from said Raman features. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 32, 33, 34)
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21. A method of measuring, in-vivo, a sub-surface Raman spectrum of a diffusely-scattering tissue, comprising:
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a) irradiating the tissue with a continuous wave laser beam light probe of incident radiation at a point of irradiation on the surface of the tissue; b) collecting light scattered by the tissue; and c) spectrally separating at least a portion of the collected light to detect one or more Raman spectral features, wherein light produced by scattering of said incident radiation by the tissue is collected from a plurality of spatial locations on the surface of the tissue, each spatial location being at a different distance from the point of irradiation, at least a portion of the light collected at each spatial location being separately spectrally dispersed to form a plurality of Raman spectra corresponding to said plurality of spatial locations such that a separate Raman spectrum corresponds to each spatial location; and d) analysing the plurality of Raman spectra to extract information on the Raman spectrum of a sub-surface region of the tissue. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method of carrying out an in-vivo sub-cutaneous inspection of a sub-surface tissue or fluid without surgical intervention, comprising:
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irradiating a surface tissue with a continuous wave laser beam; collecting light scattered beneath the surface, from one or more collection regions on the surface, said one or more collection regions being located at a plurality of spacings from an incidence location of the laser beam on the surface tissue; and detecting, using a detector, one or more Raman spectral features from the collected light for each spacing, wherein the sub-surface tissue or fluid is one of bone, cartilage and blood. - View Dependent Claims (40)
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41. Apparatus for determining, in-vivo, one or more characteristics of a sub-surface tissue or fluid, through a diffusively scattering overlying tissue, comprising:
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a light source arranged to supply incident light as a continuous wave laser beam at one or more entry regions on a surface of the overlying tissue; a collector arranged to collect light scattered within the overlying tissue, from one or more collection regions on the surface of the overlying tissue, wherein the one or more collection regions on the surface are located at a plurality of spacings from the one or more entry regions on the surface; a detector arranged to detect, in the collected light, a plurality of Raman features for said plurality of spacings, wherein at least one Raman feature corresponds to each spacing, said Raman features being spectrally related to the incident light, which originate from the sub-surface tissue or fluid; and an analyzer adapted to derive, from the Raman features, one or more characteristics of the sub-surface tissue or fluid. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. Apparatus for in-vivo selective measurement of Raman spectra generated at different depths within a diffusely-scattering tissue, the apparatus comprising:
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a light source for irradiating the tissue with a continuous wave laser probe beam of incident radiation; collection optics for collecting light scattered by the tissue and passing it to a spectrometer; detection means for detecting light dispersed by the spectrometer, wherein the apparatus is adapted for scattered light to be collected at a plurality of spatial locations on the surface of the tissue, each spatial location being at a different distance from a point of irradiation on the tissue and at least a portion of the light collected at each spatial location being separately spectrally dispersed by the spectrometer to form a plurality of Raman spectra corresponding to said plurality of spatial locations, and wherein the apparatus further includes an analyser for identifying features specific to the Raman spectrum of a sub-layer of the tissue from the plurality of Raman spectra. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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65. Medical sub-cutaneous inspection apparatus for carrying out an in-vivo inspection of a sub-surface tissue without surgical intervention, comprising:
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a probe light beam source arranged to irradiate a surface tissue with a continuous wave laser beam; a collector arranged to collect light scattered beneath the surface, from one or more collection regions on the surface, said one or more collection regions being located at a plurality of spacings from an incidence location of the laser beam on the surface tissue; a detector arranged to detect one or more Raman spectral features from the collected light for each spacing; and an analyzer arranged to derive one or more characteristics of the sub-surface tissue from intensities of the Raman spectral features. - View Dependent Claims (66)
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Specification