Patent ID: 7313424

Claim:
Apparatus which monitors in a non-vital organ at least one tissue viability parameter of a body tissue, the apparatus comprising: a) a light source for illuminating a first part of said tissue with at least one illuminating radiation via at least one illumination location; b) a light collector for receiving radiation from a second part of said tissue, the same as or different from the first part, as a result of an interaction between said illuminating radiation and said tissue, the light collector comprising a filter which preferentially admits a range of wavelengths comprising a portion of, but not all of, the fluorescent emission spectrum of NADH or Fp; c) a correlator adapted for correlating at least a part of said received radiation with said at least one tissue viability parameter; and d) an analyzer adapted for generating an indication of a degree of body metabolic emergency state based on said correlating; wherein the at least one tissue viability parameters comprise at least one of NADH or flavoprotein (Fp) concentration, and the received radiation comprises at least one of NADH and Fp fluorescence emitted by said tissue.