Patent ID: 8126524

Claim:
A monitoring system for use in non-invasively monitoring at least one parameter of a region of interest in a human body, the system comprising: a measurement unit comprising: an optical unit having an illumination assembly configured to define at least one output port for illuminating light, and a light detection assembly configured to define at least one light input port for collecting light scattered from the illuminated body portion and to generate measured data indicative of the collected light; and an acoustic unit configured to generate acoustic waves of a predetermined ultrasound frequency range; the measurement unit being configured and operable to provide an operating condition such that the acoustic waves of the predetermined frequency range overlap with an illuminating region within the region of interest and substantially do not overlap with a region outside the region of interest, and that the detection assembly collects light scattered from the region of interest and light scattered from the region outside the region of interest, the measured data being thereby indicative of scattered light having both ultrasound tagged and untagged light portions; and a control unit, which is connectable to the optical unit and to the acoustic unit to operate these units, the control unit being responsive to the measured data and preprogrammed to: process and analyze the measured data to extract therefrom a data portion associated with the light response of the region of interest and determine said at least one parameter of the region of interest, by: interpreting the tagged light portions as having been at least partially scattered by the region of interest, interpreting the untagged light portions as having been scattered by the region outside of the region of interest, and extracting, from the tagged light portion of the measured data, the data portion associated with the light response of the region of interest, based on the untagged light portions of the measured data.