Abstract: A system for detecting, localizing and targeting a medical instrument toward a target tissue within the body using an optical contrast agent in which a light source (102) is optically coupled to the tissue to be diagnosed (135), a light detector (174) is optically coupled to the tissue to detect a portion of the light which passes through the tissue, and either one or both of the light source and light detector are coupled to a medical instrument (130) used in a medical procedure. A contrast locator engine (184) receives a signal from the detector and provides an target tissue output signal (195) based upon the localization and distribution of the contrast agent, allowing the target tissue to be detected, located, or imaged, and for the medical instrument to positioned or targeted relative to the target tissue, and for allowing the accuracy of placement or the progress of a procedure to be assessed in real time. A method for the system is also described.

Abstract: A diagnostic monitor for classifying biological tissue in which a light emitter (102) is optically coupled to the tissue to be diagnosed (145) and a light detector (174) is optically coupled to the tissue to detect a portion of the light which passes through the tissue. The tissue classifier (184) receives a signal from the detector and provides an optical classification output signal (195), wherein the tissue is classified by type or state, either for detection, localization, or imaging. A method of classifying tissue is also described.

Abstract: A tool for nondestructive interrogation of the tissue including a light source emitter and detector which may be mounted directly on the surgical tool in a tissue contacting surface for interrogation or mounted remotely and guided to the surgical field with fiber optic cables. The light source may be broadband and wavelength differentiation can be accomplished at the detector via filters or gratings, or using time, frequency, or space resolved methods. Alternatively, n discrete monochromatic light sources may be provided which are subsequently multiplexed into a single detector by time or by frequency multiplexing. The optical sensing elements can be built into a surgical tool end effector tip such as a tissue grasping tool which has cooperating jaws (bivalve or multi-element).

Abstract: A tool for nondestructive interrogation of the tissue including a light source emitter and detector which may be mounted directly on the surgical tool in a tissue contacting surface for interrogation or mounted remotely and guided to the surgical field with fiber optic cables. The light source may be broadband and wavelength differentiation can be accomplished at the detector via filters or gratings, or using time, frequency, or space resolved methods. Alternatively, n discrete monochromatic light sources may be provided which are subsequently multiplexed into a single detector by time or by frequency multiplexing. The optical sensing elements can be built into a surgical tool end effector tip such as a tissue grasping tool which has cooperating jaws (bivalve or multi-element).

Abstract: A tool for nonactive interrogation of the tissue including a light source emitter and detector which may be mounted directly on the surgical tool in a tissue contacting surface for interrogation or mounted remotely and guided to the surgical field with fiber optic cables. The light source may be broadband and wavelength differentiation can be accomplished at the detector via filters or gratings, or using time, frequency, or space resolved methods. Alternatively, n discrete monochromatic light sources may be provided which are subsequently multiplexed into a single detector by time or by frequency multiplexing. The optical sensing elements can be built into a surgical tool end effector tip such as a tissue grasping tool which has cooperating jaws (bivalve or multi-element).

Abstract: A tool for nondestructive interrogation of the tissue including a light source emitter and detector which may be mounted directly on the surgical tool in a tissue contacting surface for interrogation or mounted remotely and guided to the surgical field with fiber optic cables. The light source may be broadband and wavelength differentiation can be accomplished at the detector via filters or gratings, or using time, frequency, or space resolved methods. Alternatively, n discrete monochromatic light sources may be provided which are subsequently multiplexed into a single detector by time or by frequency multiplexing. The optical sensing elements can be built into a surgical tool end effector tip such as a tissue grasping tool which has cooperating jaws (bivalve or multi-element).

Abstract: A class of novel surgical tools constructed from the surgical tools and a tissue state monitoring device to assess or image changes in the chemical or structural composition of tissue over time, which give feedback to surgeons during dynamic surgical interventions that change the character of tissue, such as tissue welding.

Abstract: The present invention provides a detection or imaging device and method that measures an effect upon the path traveled by a radiative wave through a medium where scattering of the radiative wave is strong, and uses this measured path effect to detect, localize, or characterize inhomogeneities in the medium, as well as of the medium itself, over time or space. In this embodiment, a radiative source (43), temporally modulated or intensity quantitated, is emitted into the medium (47). A detector (48) records radiative effects detected after travel through said medium, and the detected signal is measured for a path effect (45). Based upon one or more of these path effects, such as the distance the latest arriving photons have traveled, a quantifiable parameter of the medium is determined (49). This parameter can be the location, distance, speed, or other characteristic of the medium or inhomogeneity.

Abstract: The present invention provides a detection or imaging device and method that measures an effect upon the path traveled by a radiative wave through a medium where scattering of the radiative wave is strong, and uses this measured path effect to detect, localize, or characterize inhomogeneities in the medium, as well as of the medium itself, over time or space. In this embodiment, a radiative source (43), temporally modulated or intensity quantitated, is emitted into the medium (47). A detector (48) records radiative effects detected after travel through said medium, and the detected signal is measured for a path effect (45). Based upon one or more of these path effects, such as the distance the latest arriving photons have traveled, a quantifiable parameter of the medium is determined (49). This parameter can be the location, distance, speed, or other characteristic of the medium or inhomogeneity.

Abstract: Methods and compositions for detecting and localizing light originating from a mammal are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods for targeting light emission to selected regions, as well as for tracking entities within the mammal. In addition, animal models for disease states are disclosed, as are methods for localizing and tracking the progression of disease or a pathogen within the animal, and for screening putative therapeutic compounds effective to inhibit the disease or pathogen.

Abstract: A spectrophotometer for providing an image of a radiation scattering medium having one or more radiation attenuating constituents is disclosed herein. The spectrophotometer includes a light source for illuminating the scattering medium with electromagnetic radiation of at least one wavelength. In one embodiment a time-gated detector serves to detect, during a predefined detection interval, the electromagnetic radiation having traversed a distribution of path lengths during propagation through a region of the medium. A photon counting apparatus or the like measures the intensity of the detected portion of the electromagnetic radiation, wherein the measured intensity is a function of attenuation of the region within the medium. A display apparatus is operative to generate the image in accordance with the measured intensity.

Abstract: An improved spectrophotometer which noninvasively and qualitatively or quantitatively determines the concentration of light and other radiation absorbing substances in the bloodstream inside a radiation scattering body by assessing, at one or more wavelengths, the pulsatile changes which occur with each heartbeat in the absorbance of radiation passing through the medium, whereby the measurement is confined to the blood-stream and the absorbance of material outside of the bloodstream is cancels out. A light emitter (11), consisting of one or more radiation sources (11a, 11b, . . . 11n), emits light into a tissue sample (14) in vivo. Radiation returning to a detector (17) is filtered (21) to remove any nonpulsatile component, amplified (27), demodulated (31) to separate the component of absorbance due to each radiation source. Peak signal intensity is determined (33), and these peak signal values are stored in an absorbance register (37).

Abstract: A spectrophotometer for providing an image of a radiation scattering medium having one or more radiation attenuating constituents is disclosed herein. The spectrophotometer includes a light source for illuminating the scattering medium with electromagnetic radiation of at least one wavelength. In one embodiment a time-gated detector serves to detect, during a predefined detection interval, the electromagnetic radiation having traversed a distribution of path lengths during propagation through a region of the medium. A photon counting apparatus or the like measures the intensity of the detected portion of the electromagnetic radiation, wherein the measured intensity is a function of attenuation of the region within the medium. A display apparatus is operative to generate the image in accordance with the measured intensity.