Patent ID: 6571119
Filing Date: 2003-05-27
Classification: A61B,G01J

Abstract:
A fluorescence detecting apparatus, comprising:i) an excitation light irradiating means for irradiating excitation light to a region of interest in a living body to which a fluorescent diagnosis drug, that is capable of producing fluorescence when excited with said excitation light has been administered, said excitation light covering wavelengths falling within an excitation wavelength range for said fluorescent diagnosis drug and an intrinsic dye in the living body, said intrinsic dye being capable of producing fluorescence when excited with the excitation light, ii) a fluorescence detecting means for detecting first and second fluorescence components, said first fluorescence component being either one of: a) an entire fluorescence component covering wavelengths falling within a wavelength range which contains: a wavelength range of extrinsic fluorescence produced by said fluorescent diagnosis drug in said region of interest in the living body, and a wavelength range of intrinsic fluorescence produced by said intrinsic dye in said region of interest in the living body, and b) a fluorescence sum component which is the sum of: a fluorescence component covering wavelengths falling within a part of the wavelength range of the extrinsic fluorescence produced by said fluorescent diagnosis drug in said region of interest in the living body, and a fluorescence component covering wavelengths falling within a part of the wavelength range of the intrinsic fluorescence produced by said intrinsic dye in the living body, and said second fluorescence component being either one of: a) a fluorescence component covering wavelengths falling within a part of the wavelength range of the extrinsic fluorescence, and b) a fluorescence difference component which is the difference between: a fluorescence component covering wavelengths falling within a part of the wavelength range of the extrinsic fluorescence, and a fluorescence component covering wavelengths falling within a part of the wavelength range of the intrinsic fluorescence, and iii) a division means for carrying out a division operation between the first fluorescence component and the second fluorescence component, wherein the fluorescence detecting means comprises: a color mosaic filter for separating the fluorescence emitted from the region of interest into the first fluorescence component and the second fluorescence component, and a detecting means for detecting the first and second fluorescence components in a two-dimensional manner, and wherein the color mosaic filter is fixed on a fluorescence detecting surface of the detecting means.