Patent ID: 9743881
Date: 2017-08-29
CPC Classifications: A61B,A61K

Claim:
1. An apparatus configured for using functional imaging for localization of biological tissue, said apparatus comprising: an electromagnetic-radiation emitter configured for emitting electromagnetic radiation to said biological tissue; an ultrasound transducer configured for receiving ultrasound from said biological tissue responsive to said emitting; and a photoacoustic imaging device configured for: operating said electromagnetic-radiation emitter; operating said ultrasound transducer; from the received ultrasound, measuring responses in the biological tissue to electromagnetic radiation; and, based on said responses, distinguishing, within the biological tissue, one or both of (i) a hemorrhage zone, disposed between (i)(a) healthy tissue and (i)(b) ablated tissue, from said healthy and ablated tissue by identifying a border between said hemorrhage zone and said healthy tissue and by identifying a border between said hemorrhage zone and said ablated tissue, and (ii) a contrast agent from bordering native tissue, wherein said distinguishing entails combining, via said photoacoustic imaging device, datasets acquired, via said transducer, by electromagnetic irradiation, via said emitter, at different frequencies or frequency bands, wherein the datasets serve as measures of absorption by said biological tissue of the electromagnetic radiation, and wherein the different frequencies or frequency bands are (iii) selected for (iii)(a) differential absorption of radiation in, correspondingly, the hemorrhage zone or where the contrast agent exists and (iii)(b) relatively similar absorption elsewhere in the healthy tissue, the ablated tissue, and the bordering native tissue.