System and method of fluorescence spectroscopic imaging for characterization and monitoring of tissue damage

A method for monitoring a biological tissue comprising the steps of:

• illuminating the tissue including collagen with an illumination bandwidth of about 10 nm to about 100 nm of light and a wavelength between about 340 nm to about 380 nm;
• determining a fluorescent emission of the collagen at an emission wavelength of about 380 nm, an intensity of emission indicating the presence and the relative concentration of the collagen over time;
• correlating an emission of the collagen to an extent and a degree of thermal damage to the tissue over time;
• controlling the power of a laser tissue welder based on a correlation;
• and
• preventing overheating of the tissue by the laser tissue welder.

A monitoring device for detecting thermal damage to a biological tissue and controlling a laser tissue welder comprising:

• an illumination device providing a light;
• a filter provided adjacent to the illumination device to reduce the heat of the light;
• an optical fiber for directing the filtered light toward the tissue;
• a narrow band filter for selecting a bandwidth of light from the filtered light, the bandwidth selected for exciting an emission from a fluorophore of the tissue;
• a camera for collecting a fluorescent emission from the fluorophore, the emission in response to the selected bandwidth of light;
• a processor for detecting a variation in an emission intensity over time and in response to treatment by the laser tissue welder;
• and
• a control means for varying the power of the laser tissue welder in response to a control signal from the processor.