Generation of spatially-averaged excitation-emission map in heterogeneous tissue

• US 6,597,932 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2001
• Issued: 07/22/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cercacor Laboratories
• Original Assignee: Argose, Inc.
• Inventors: Trepagnier, Pierre, Tian, Wei Dong
• Primary Examiner(s): Pelham, Joseph
• Application Number:
  US09/785,549
• Publication Number:
  US 20010046045A1
• Time in Patent Office: 882 Days
• Field of Search: 600/317, 600/476, 600/477, 600/478, 356/317, 356/311, 356/318, 250/459.1
• US Class Current: 600/317
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0059 using light, e.g. diagnosis by transillumination, diascopy, fluorescence A61B5/0093, A61B5/1455, A61B5/02416 and A61B5/0261 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/6417 Spectrofluorimetric devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/6419 Excitation at two or more wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/6423 Spectral mapping, video display
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/6484 Optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/6456 Spatial resolved fluorescence measurements; Imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/6486 Measuring fluorescence of biological material, e.g. DNA, RNA, cells G01N21/6428 takes precedence

Abstract

An instrument for evaluating fluorescence of a heterogeneous tissue includes means for exciting a two-dimensional portion of the tissue surface with excitation radiation at a plurality of excitation wavelengths, means for collecting emission radiation from the two-dimensional portion of the tissue surface simultaneously with excitation of the portion, and means for forming a two-dimensional excitation-emission map of the excitation radiation and the simultaneously collected emission radiation and spatially averaging the excitation and emission radiation.

Claims

1. A common fiber optic head, comprising:

a plurality of excitation fiber optic bundles, wherein each of the plurality of excitation fiber optic bundles comprises at least twenty excitation fibers;

a plurality of emission fiber optic bundles, wherein each of the plurality of emission fiber optic bundles comprises at least twenty emission fibers; and

wherein distal ends of the excitation and emission fiber optic bundles are disposed in a two-dimensional array.

2. The common fiber optic head of claim 1, wherein the two-dimensional array comprises n rows and n columns;

the distal ends of the excitation fiber optic bundles are disposed in all elements of every odd or even column, but not both; and

wherein the distal ends of the emission fiber optic bundles are disposed in all elements of every odd or even column not occupied by the excitation fiber optic bundles.

3. The common fiber optic head of claim 2, wherein each of the excitation fibers carries excitation light having a wavelength between 250-550 nm.

4. The common fiber optic head of claim 3, wherein each column of the excitation fibers carries excitation light having a unique wavelength.

5. The common fiber optic head of claim 1, wherein the excitation and emission fiber optic bundles are spaced at least 0.5 mm apart.

6. The common fiber optic head of claim 1, wherein the emission fibers collect fluorescence emitted from a sample.

7. A system comprising:

a common fiber optic head, an excitation radiation source, and an emission radiation detector, wherein the common fiber optic head further comprises a plurality of excitation fiber optic bundles each of which comprises at least twenty excitation fibers;

a plurality of emission fiber optic bundles each which comprises at least twenty emission fibers; and

wherein distal ends of the excitation and emission fiber optic bundles are disposed in a two-dimensional array.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising means for generating a two-dimensional excitation and emission radiation map in which all elements in the map are gathered at once.