Patent Document ID: 20080228037
Application ID: 11969974
Patent Status: 0

Claim One:
1. A fluorescence endoscopy video system including: a multimode light source for producing white light, fluorescence excitation light or fluorescence excitation light with a reference reflectance light; an endoscope for directing the light from the light source into a patient to illuminate a tissue sample and to collect the reflected light or fluorescence light emitted from the tissue; a camera positioned to receive the light collected by the endoscope, the camera including: a color image sensor; a low light image sensor; a reference image sensor, a beam splitter for splitting the light received from the endoscope into at least two beams and directing a first of the at least two beams onto the color image sensor; and a dichroic splitter and filter assembly that receives a second of the at least two beams from the beam splitter and divides the second beam into two spectral components and projects the two spectral components onto the low light image sensor and reference image sensor, one or more filters positioned in front of the low light, reference and color image sensors for selectively transmitting light of desired wavelengths; one or more optical imaging components that project images onto the color image sensor, the reference sensor and the low light image sensor; an image processor/controller for digitizing, processing and encoding the image signals received from the sensor(s) as a video signal; and a video monitor for displaying the video signals.