Patent ID: 11925308
Assignee: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY AND AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 6:
7. A method for near-infrared fluorescence endoscopic dental imaging using a near-infrared fluorescence endoscopic dental imaging system comprising an endoscope forming a plurality of lumens therein, a spectrometer optically coupled to a first lumen of the endoscope, a near-infrared camera optically coupled to a second lumen of the endoscope, and a bifurcated fiber disposed in the second lumen, the bifurcated fiber having a first channel optically coupled to the spectrometer and a second channel optically coupled to a near-infrared illumination source, the method comprising:
administering a near-infrared fluorescent dye to a subject, the near-infrared fluorescent dye comprising indocyanine green (ICG);
waiting a predetermined period of time;
observing in a predetermined imaging window of time;
illuminating selected dental tissue of the subject with near-infrared light from the near-infrared illumination source through the second channel optically coupled to the near-infrared illumination source;
capturing a two-dimensional near-infrared dental image of the subject using the near-infrared camera to provide an overview of a wide angle imaging field of the selected dental tissue of the subject, the near-infrared camera having a spatial resolution less than 100 mm in near-infrared;
capturing near-infrared light from the selected tissue of subject using the spectrometer through the first channel optically coupled to the spectrometer to provide a wavelength-resolved spectroscopy of a selected imaged area within the near-infrared two-dimensional dental image;
analyzing the near-infrared light to create a spectroscopic signal; and
displaying a two-dimensional near-infrared dental image.