Patent ID: 6697665
Filing Date: 2004-02-24
Classification: A61B,G01N

Abstract:
A method of spectroscopic diagnosis of tissue comprising:irradiating a subsurface portion of atherosclerotic tissue within a vascular lumen to be diagnosed with radiation having a frequency within the infrared range transmitted through a fiber optic cable; detecting light emitted by the portion of atherosclerotic tissue in response to the radiation, the light having a plurality of Raman shifted frequencies in a range of 750 cmâˆ’1 to 1750 cmâˆ’1 that are different from the irradiating frequency; and analyzing the plurality of Raman shifted frequencies of detected light to diagnose the tissue including the step of comparing the detected light with reference data to determine the presence of a fibrous tissue cap overlying a calcified layer.