Photoacoustic assay and imaging system
AssigneeGlucon, Inc.
InventorsRon Nagar, Benny Pesach, Udi Ben-Ami
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for assaying a component of a localized region of interest in a body comprising: illuminating the region with at least one pulse of radiation having a wavelength at which the radiation is absorbed by the component to generate a change in an acoustic property of the region; transmitting ultrasound so that it is incident on the region; measuring at least one effect of the change on the incident ultrasound; using the measured at least one effect to determine an absorption coefficient for the radiation in the region; and using the determined absorption coefficient to determine concentration of the component in the region.
Claims51
Apparatus for assaying a component of a localized region of interest in a body comprising:
- a source of radiation controllable to provide pulses of radiation having a wavelength at which the radiation is absorbed by the component and generates a change in an acoustic property of the region;
- at least one ultrasound transducer controllable to transmit ultrasound;
- at least one transducer for sensing ultrasound that generates signals responsive to ultrasound energy incident thereon;
- and
- a controller that:
- a) controls the radiation source to illuminate the region with at least one pulse of the radiation that generates the change in region;
- b) controls at least one transmitting transducer to transmit ultrasound that is incident on the region and thereafter incident on a sensing transducer that generates signals responsive thereto;
- c) receives the signals and uses them to measure at least one effect of the charge on the ultrasound;
- d) uses the measured effect to determine an absorption coefficient for the region;
- and
- e) determines a concentration of the component in the region from the absorption coefficient.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the controller controls the at least one transmitting transducer and processes signals from the at least one sensing transducer to determine a location of the region.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein a transducer of the at least one transmitting and/or sensing transducer is coupled to the body and the controller controls the at least one transmitting transducer and processes signals from the at least one sensing transducer to determine acoustic properties of the coupling between the transducer coupled to the body and the body.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the at least one pulse of radiation comprises a microwave pulse.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the at least one pulse of radiation comprises a pulse of RF energy.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the at least one pulse of radiation comprises a pulse of light.
Apparatus for assaying a component of a localized region of interest in a body comprising:
- a light source controllable to provide pulses of light having a wavelength at which the radiation is absorbed by the component and generates photoacoustic waves in the region;
- at least one transducer for sensing ultrasound that generates signals responsive to ultrasound energy incident thereon;
- and
- a controller that:
- a) controls the light source to illuminate a volume of the body that comprises the region with at least one pulse of light having a wavelength at which light is absorbed by the component so as to generate photoacoustic waves in the volume that are incident on the at least one sensing transducer;
- b) receives signals generated by the at least one sensing transducer responsive to the photoacoustic waves and uses them to determine locations of the origins of the photoacoustic waves;
- c) uses intensity of those photoacoustic waves having an origin in the region to determine an absorption coefficient for the light in the region;
- and
- d) uses the determined absorption coefficient to determine concentration of the component in the region.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the controller processes signals from the at least one sensing transducer to determine acoustic properties of material in the body.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the controller determines an absorption coefficient for a plurality of different localized regions in the body to provide concentration of the component as a function of position in the body.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein a sensing transducer is also a transmitting transducer.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the body is a living body.
Apparatus for detecting photoacoustic waves generated in a region of a body by light comprising:
- means for illuminating the region with pulses of the light at a pulse repetition frequency to generate photoacoustic waves in the region;
- means for heterodyning the generated photoacoustic waves with an acoustic reference beam having a frequency that is shifted from the pulse repetition frequency by an offset frequency;
- and
- mean for detecting acoustic waves at the offset frequency.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.