Diagnostic tomographic laser imaging apparatus
OwnerRichard J. Grableinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A laser imaging apparatus comprises a platform for supporting a female patient in frontdown, prone position, including an opening permitting a breast of the patient to be vertically pendant below the surface of the platform; scanning mechanism disposed below the platform to scan the breast without breast compression. The scanning mechanism includes a source of coherent near infrared light pulses operably directed to the breast; photodetectors operably disposed to detect the light pulses after passing through the breast; circuit for deriving voltages proportional to the intensity of the received pulses; and computer programmed for storing and displaying images of tissue in the breast derived from the voltages.
Claims9
A patient support structure for use in a laser imaging apparatus, comprising:
- a) a non-vertically movable and non-tiltable platform including a top surface to support a female patient in front-down, prone position;
- b) said platform including an opening adapted to permit a breast of the patient to be vertically pendant below said surface in air;
- and
- c) a scanning mechanism to image the internal structure of the breast, said scanning mechanism being disposed below said opening to scan the breast without breast compression.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.