Patent ID: 8229548

Claim:
An imaging system for an open surgical procedure, the imaging system comprising: a visible light source to illuminate a surgical field of a subject's body, the surgical field being exposed during the open surgical procedure, the visible light source providing a range of wavelengths including one or more wavelengths of visible light; an excitation light source to illuminate the surgical field, the excitation light source including at least one wavelength outside the range of wavelengths of the visible light; a lens disposed outside of the subject's body so as to receive at least a portion of reflected visible light from the surgical field and at least a portion of a fluorescence emission from the surgical field, the reflected visible light and the fluorescence emission propagating through free space outside of the subject's body from the surgical field to the lens, the lens providing focused reflected visible light and a focused fluorescence emission; at least one electronic imaging device positioned with respect to the lens so as to capture a visible light image of the surgical field based on the focused reflected visible light, and a fluorescence emission image of the surgical field based on the focused fluorescence emission; and a display that renders a visual representation of the visible light image of the surgical field and the fluorescence emission image of the surgical field, the lens and the at least one electronic imaging device positioned outside of the subject's body, the positioning permitting performance of the open surgical procedure on the surgical field that includes at least an opening on an exterior surface of the subject's body where an open surgical procedure is being performed and, concurrently, illuminate the surgical field by the one or more wavelengths of visible light and the at least one wavelength outside the range of wavelengths of the visible light.