Claims
- 1. An improved diffuse optical tomography system for in vivo non-contact imaging, comprising:
an illumination source for illuminating a specimen; a spectrum source for projecting a spectrum onto said specimen; and at least one sensor configured to capture a response of said specimen to said illumination and said projection of said spectrum.
- 2. The system of claim 1, wherein said illumination source comprises at least one laser.
- 3. The system of claim 1, wherein said illumination source comprises a plurality of lasers.
- 4. The system of claim 3, wherein said plurality of lasers comprises four lasers.
- 5. The system of claim 4, wherein said lasers are each configured to generate substantially wavelengths between approximately 650nm and 800nm in wavelength.
- 6. The system of claim 5, further comprising a mirror assembly configured to project said light from said lasers as a single beam onto said specimen.
- 7. The system of claim 6, wherein said mirror assembly comprises a plurality of motors configured to manipulate said mirror assembly to direct said single beam onto said specimen in response to numeric control.
- 8. The system of claim 1, wherein said illumination source comprises a fiber optic array configured to generate light between approximately 650nm and 850nm in wavelength.
- 9. The system of claim 1, wherein said spectrum source comprises a monochromatic light source.
- 10. The system of claim 9, further comprising sequential intensity pattern projections associated with said monochromatic spectrum source.
- 11. The system of claim 1, wherein said spectrum source comprises a spatially varying wavelength spectrum generator.
- 12. The system of claim 11, wherein said spatially varying wavelength spectrum generator is configured to generate a plurality of rainbow spectra onto said specimen.
- 13. The system of claim 1, wherein said sensor comprises a 2D CCD sensor.
- 14. The system of claim 1, further comprising a filter wheel associated with said 2D CCD sensor.
- 15. The system of claim 14, wherein said filter wheel comprises a plurality of filters between about 650 to 850 nm.
- 16. The system of claim 13, further comprising an array of filters associated with said 2D CCD sensor.
- 17. The system of claim 13, further comprising a 3D camera system.
- 18. The system of claim 17, wherein said 3D camera is configured to collect three dimensional boundary data.
- 19. The system of claim 13, further comprising a photon collection assembly for collecting time resolved reflected light data.
- 20. The system of claim 1, further comprising a processor-based device configured to process data acquired by said sensor.
- 21. The system of claim 20, wherein said processor-based device is further configured to control said illumination source, said spectrum source and a mirror assembly for directing light from said illumination source onto said specimen.
- 22. The system of claim 20, wherein said processor-based device comprises a computer.
- 23. An improved diffuse optical tomography system for in vivo non-contact imaging, comprising:
an illumination source for illuminating a specimen; a spectrum source for projecting a spatially varying wavelength spectrum onto said specimen; and a sensor assembly configured to capture responses to said illumination and said projection of said spectrum.
- 24. The system of claim 23, wherein said illumination source comprises at least one laser.
- 25. The system of claim 24, wherein said illumination source comprises four lasers.
- 26. The system of claim 25, wherein said lasers are configured to generate light between approximately 650nm and 800nm in wavelength.
- 27. The system of claim 26, further comprising a mirror assembly configured to project said light from said lasers as a single beam onto said specimen.
- 28. The system of claim 27, wherein said mirror assembly comprises a plurality of motors configured to manipulate said mirror assembly to direct said single beam onto a pre-determined location on said specimen.
- 29. The system of claim 23, wherein said sensor comprises a 2D CCD sensor.
- 30. The system of claim 23, further comprising a filter wheel associated with said 2D CCD sensor.
- 31. The system of claim 30, wherein said filter wheel comprises a plurality of filters between about 650 to 850 nm.
- 32. The system of claim 29, further comprising an array of filters associated with said 2D CCD sensor.
- 33. The system of claim 30, further comprising means for time-resolving reflected photon data.
- 34. The system of claim 23, further comprising a processor-based device configured to process data acquired by said sensor.
- 35. The system of claim 34, wherein said processor-based device is further configured to control said illumination source and said spectrum source.
- 36. The system of claim 34, wherein said processor-based device comprises a computer.
- 37. An improved method to enhance the accuracy of Diffuse Optical Tomograpy (DOT) for in vivo non-contact medical examination, comprising:
projecting a spectrum onto said selected region with light in the visible spectrum; capturing a response to said projection in order to determine three-dimensional geometric boundary data; illuminating a specimen in a selected region with light in the visible spectrum; and capturing a response in said to said illumination.
- 38. The method of claim 37, wherein said spectrum comprises a plurality of individual images.
- 39. The method of claim 37, wherein said spectrum comprises a linear variable wavelength spectrum.
- 40. The method of claim 39, wherein said spectrum comprises a plurality of linear variable wavelength spectra.
- 41. The method of claim 37, wherein said capturing of said responses is accomplished through the use of a monochromatic CCD sensor.
- 42. The method of claim 37, wherein said capturing of said responses is accomplished through the use of monochromatic CCD sensor and a 3D camera.
- 43. The method of claim 37, wherein said illumination comprises projecting a multispectral laser beam onto said specimen.
- 44. The method of claim 37, further comprising recording and analyzing reflection and refraction data of said illumination from said specimen.
- 45. The method of claim 37, further comprising processing said responses in order to determine accurate three-dimensional characteristics and tomographical information of said specimen.
- 46. The method of 45, wherein said tomographical information comprises relative concentrations of oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin.
- 47. The method of 37, further comprising introducing the use of at least one fluorochrome into said specimen and capturing a response of said specimen to said illumination.
- 48. The method of claim 47, comprising introducing a plurality of fluorochromes into said specimen and applying light comprising a plurality of monochromic wavelengths in the visible spectrum wherein each wavelength causes a specified response in a corresponding fluorochrome.
- 49. An improved DOT imaging system, comprising: means for capturing three-dimensional boundary characteristics of a system; and means for substantially simultaneously capturing DOT characteristics.
- 50. The system of claim 49, wherein said means for capturing three-dimensional boundary characteristics and said means for substantially simultaneous capturing DOT characteristics comprise independent sensor means.
- 51. The system of claim 49, wherein said means for capturing three-dimensional boundary characteristics and said means for substantially simultaneous capturing DOT characteristics comprise a shared sensor assembly.
- 52. The system of claim 49, further comprising means for processing said captured characteristics.
- 53. The system of claim 49, wherein said means for capturing three-dimensional boundary characteristics comprises a laser-scanner.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from the following previously-filed Provisional Patent Applications, U.S. Application No. 60/407,304, filed Sep. 3, 2002 by Geng, entitled “Enhance the Accuracy of Diffuse Optical Tomography Using 3D Camera” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
[0002] The present application is related to U.S. application No. Ser. 09/616,723 by Geng entitled “Three-Dimensional Dental Imaging Method and Apparatus Having a Reflective Member.” application Ser. No. 09/616,723 is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/616,723 by Geng entitled, “Three-Dimensional Dental Imaging Method and Apparatus.” Application Ser. No. 09/616,723 claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application. No. 60/144,010, filed Jul. 15, 1999. All three of these previous applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
[0003] The present application is also related to (1) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/375,934, “Method and Apparatus for Generating Structural Pattern Illumination” filed Apr. 26. 2002; (2) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/178,695, “Improvement on the 3D Imaging Methods & Apparatus” filed Jan. 28, 2000; (3) U.S. Patent application Ser. No. 09/770,124, “3D Surface Profile Imaging Method & Apparatus Using Single Spectral Light Condition” filed Jan. 26, 2001; (4) PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US01/18644, “3D Surface Profile Imaging Method & Apparatus Using Single Spectral Light Condition” filed Jun. 11, 2001; and (5) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/771,531, “Method & Apparatus for 3D Imaging Using Light Pattern Having Multiple Sub-Patterns” filed Jan. 29, 2001. All of these previous applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Provisional Applications (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60407304 |
Sep 2002 |
US |
|
60144010 |
Jul 1999 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09616723 |
Jul 2000 |
US |
Child |
10654225 |
Sep 2003 |
US |
Parent |
09282067 |
Mar 1999 |
US |
Child |
09616723 |
Jul 2000 |
US |