Patent ID: 8139211

Claim:
A method for imaging a tissue region comprising the steps of: applying a fluorescent contrast agent to said tissue region; emitting light having a first polarization directly onto the tissue region; detecting exogenous fluorescence light remitted from the tissue region having said first polarization direction and exogenous fluorescence light remitted from the tissue region having a second polarization direction perpendicular to said first polarization direction, wherein said remitted exogenous fluorescence light is detected from both normal and diseased tissue in the tissue region; forming a total exogenous fluorescence polarization image equal to said detected exogenous fluorescence light having said first polarization direction plus said detected light having said second polarization direction; and delineating margins of a lesion from superficial normal tissue in said tissue region by using a difference between the total exogenous fluorescence polarization image of the superficial normal tissue and the lesion.