Method and apparatus for distinguishing cancerous tissue from benign tumor tissue, benign tissue or normal tissue using native fluorescence
US5131398A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 22, 1990 |
| Grant date | Jul 21, 1992 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 22, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B5/4312
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method and apparatus for distingishing cancerous tumors and tissue from benign tumors and tissue or normal tissue using native fluorescence. The tissue to be examined is excited with a beam of monochromatic light at 300 nanometers (nm). The intensity of the native fluorescence emitted from tissue is measured at 340 and 440 nm. The ratio of the two intensities is then calculated and used as a basis for determining if the tissue is cancerous as opposed to benign or normal. The invention is based on the discovery that when tissue is excited with monochromatic light at 300 nm, the native fluorescence spectrum over the region from about 320 nm to 600 nm is the tissue that is cancerous and substantially different from the native fluorescence spectrum that would result if the tissue is either benign or normal. The technique is useful in invivo and in vitro testing of human as well as animal tissue.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.