Patent ID: 7536213
Filing Date: 2009-05-19
Classification: A61B,G01N

Abstract:
1. A method for reducing elastic scattering from a sample comprising an analyte residing at a significant depth in the sample and a non-uniformly distributed photo-bleachable substance, the method comprising: photo-bleaching the non-uniformly distributed photo-bleachable substance in the sample to induce a reduction in elastic scattering in the sample; generating analyte spectra from inelastic scattering from the sample, wherein some or all of the analyte resides at a depth in the sample greater than an effective elastic scattering length of the sample, wherein the effective elastic scattering length is 1/u collecting the analyte spectra, wherein a sufficient amount of the analyte resides at the depth in the sample greater than an effective elastic scattering length of the sample such that the collected analyte spectra has a higher signal to noise ratio than without photo-bleaching.