Biomedical fiber optic probe with frequency domain signal processing
First Claim
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1. Apparatus for monitoring conditions within a living subject comprising:
- (a) a probe adapted for insertion into the body of a subject, said probe including an elongated optically transmissive fiber having a proximal end and a distal end, said probe also including a luminescent composition mounted at said distal end of said fiber in optical communication therewith, said luminescent composition having one or more luminescent decay time parameters affected by said condition when said distal end of said probe is disposed within the body of a subject;
(b) means for applying to said composition through said fiber excitation light varying cyclically in amplitude, said excitation light incorporating components varying in amplitude at a plurality of excitation modulation frequencies simultaneously, whereby said luminescent composition will emit response light varying cyclically in amplitude and including a plurality of response components varying in amplitude at a plurality of response modulation frequencies simultaneously and said response light will be transmitted through said fiber to said proximal end thereof;
(c) means for detecting the cyclically varying amplitude of said response light transmitted to said proximal end of said fiber and deriving a frequency domain representation of said cyclically varying response light amplitude including at least one characteristic of each of said plurality of response components; and
(d) means for deriving values of one or more luminescence decay parameters of said composition from said characteristics, whereby said derived luminescence delay parameters will vary with said conditions.
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Abstract
A fiber optic probe incorporating a luminescent composition is used to monitor conditions within a living subject. Response light from the fiber optic is detected and a frequency domain representation of the response light is derived. Characteristics of the frequency domain representation are used to derive values for luminescence lifetimes or similar decay parameters and these values in turn are translated into values of the conditions to be sensed.
151 Citations
30 Claims
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1. Apparatus for monitoring conditions within a living subject comprising:
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(a) a probe adapted for insertion into the body of a subject, said probe including an elongated optically transmissive fiber having a proximal end and a distal end, said probe also including a luminescent composition mounted at said distal end of said fiber in optical communication therewith, said luminescent composition having one or more luminescent decay time parameters affected by said condition when said distal end of said probe is disposed within the body of a subject; (b) means for applying to said composition through said fiber excitation light varying cyclically in amplitude, said excitation light incorporating components varying in amplitude at a plurality of excitation modulation frequencies simultaneously, whereby said luminescent composition will emit response light varying cyclically in amplitude and including a plurality of response components varying in amplitude at a plurality of response modulation frequencies simultaneously and said response light will be transmitted through said fiber to said proximal end thereof; (c) means for detecting the cyclically varying amplitude of said response light transmitted to said proximal end of said fiber and deriving a frequency domain representation of said cyclically varying response light amplitude including at least one characteristic of each of said plurality of response components; and (d) means for deriving values of one or more luminescence decay parameters of said composition from said characteristics, whereby said derived luminescence delay parameters will vary with said conditions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of monitoring conditions within a living subject comprising the steps of:
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(a) inserting a probe including an elongated optically transmissive fiber and a luminescent composition mounted at a distal end of the fiber in optical communication therewith, into the body of the subject so that the distal end of the fiber is disposed within the body and one or more luminescent decay time parameters of the composition are affected by the condition to be monitored, and so that a proximal end of the fiber is disposed outside of the body; (b) directing excitation light through said fiber to said composition, said excitation light varying cyclically in amplitude, and incorporating components varying in amplitude at a plurality of excitation modulation frequencies simultaneously, whereby said luminescent composition will emit response light varying cyclically and including a plurality of response components varying in amplitude at a plurality of response modulation frequencies simultaneously and said response light will be transmitted through said fiber to said proximal end thereof; (c) detecting the cyclically varying amplitude of said response light transmitted to said proximal end of said fiber; (d) deriving a frequency domain representation of said cyclically varying response light amplitude including at least one characteristic of each of said plurality of response components; and (e) deriving a value of one or more luminescence decay parameters of said composition from said characteristics, whereby said derived luminescence delay parameters will vary with said conditions. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification