Device and method for detection, localization, and characterization of inhomogeneities in turbid media
US5746210A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 26, 1993 |
| Grant date | May 5, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 26, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B2562/08
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention provides a detection or imaging device and method that measures an effect upon the path traveled by a radiative wave through a medium where scattering of the radiative wave is strong, and uses this measured path effect to detect, localize, or characterize inhomogeneities in the medium, as well as of the medium itself, over time or space. In this embodiment, a radiative source (43), temporally modulated or intensity quantitated, is emitted into the medium (47). A detector (48) records radiative effects detected after travel through said medium, and the detected signal is measured for a path effect (45). Based upon one or more of these path effects, such as the distance the latest arriving photons have traveled, a quantifiable parameter of the medium is determined (49). This parameter can be the location, distance, speed, or other characteristic of the medium or inhomogeneity. Measurement over space provides additional information as to spatial distribution; measurement over time provides information as to temporal changes in the medium. The device has application in medical and industrial imaging, detection, and localization of objects and other inhomogeneities…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.