Patent ID: 6304771
Filing Date: 2001-10-16
Classification: A61B,G01N

Abstract:
A system for imaging fluorophores in a turbid medium comprising:an illumination source that illuminates the fluorophores with diffuse photon density waves of a first specified wavelength, thus causing the fluorophores to fluoresce re-radiated diffuse photon density waves of a second wavelength after being illuminated with the diffuse photon density waves of the first specified wavelength;a detector that detects the re-radiated diffuse photon density waves of the second wavelength, wherein there is a phase shift between the diffuse photon density waves of the first wavelength and the diffuse photon density waves of the second wavelength; anda processor interfaced with the detector that processes data corresponding to the phase shift and the amplitude of the re-radiated waves to determine concentration and lifetime of the fluorophores as a function of spatial position in the turbid medium.