Catheter Needle with Optical Fiber for Raman Signal Measurement

Abstract

In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a needle that includes a substantially cylindrical shaft and a lumen, which includes a hollow space located within the shaft. The shaft includes a tip located at an end of the shaft, where the tip includes an opening. The apparatus also includes an optical fiber that includes an end face. The end face and at least a portion of the optical fiber are located within the lumen. The optical fiber is configured to transmit a pump-Stokes beam of light along the optical fiber toward the tip of the needle and to the end face, where the pump-Stokes beam is emitted from the end face and directed to a sample. The apparatus further includes a catheter that includes a catheter connector and a catheter tube having a substantially cylindrical shape, where the catheter tube surrounds at least a portion of the needle shaft.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.