Patent Document ID: 20080312879
Application ID: 11764041
Patent Status: 0

Claim One:
1. A fluorescence optical tomography method for producing an image of a volume of interest indicative of location and number density of fluorophores embedded therein, the method comprising: optically scanning the volume of interest at a plurality of source/detector geometries with an optical source generating an optical signal at an excitation wavelength, interaction of the excitation wavelength with the fluorophores causing fluorescence therefrom at a fluorescence wavelength; determining separately, for each of the source/detector geometries, an effective absorption coefficient and an effective reduced scattering coefficient of the volume of interest; detecting at the detector locations the fluorescence wavelength and generating a fluorescence signal output; calculating a fluorescence signal using an estimated spatial distribution of fluorophore concentration and the effective absorption and reduced scattering coefficients for each of the source/detector geometries; and adjusting said estimated spatial distribution of fluorophore concentration using said detected fluorescence signal output and said calculated fluorescence signal to generate said image.