Spectrophotometer
AssigneeKlein Medical Limited
InventorCornelis Kees Klein
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An analyzer or spectrophotometer for the detection of material is described with a single source with variable intensity, a single detector having a variable spectral response where the sample is able to be analyzed based on varying the intensity and spectral response. Various methods are described for varying the intensity, and also for varying the spectral response.
Claims33
An analyzer or spectrophotometer for the detection of material in a sample comprising:
- a source of radiation adapted to direct said radiation at least at said sample, the radiation incident on or affected by said sample able to be varied by varying the intensity of the said source radiation;
- a detector for detecting at least radiation affected by said sample, said detector having a spectral response able to be varied by biasing the detector and an output depending on radiation incident thereon and said spectral response;
- a controller or processor receiving said output, configured or programmed to:
- vary the spectral response of said detector using biasing to produce a sweep of detector spectral responses, each spectral response having a cut off wavelength dependent on the intensity of incident radiation and biasing;
- for each detector spectral response within the sweep of spectral responses, vary the intensity of said source radiation to produce a sweep of source radiation with a range of intensities directed at said sample;
- for each detector spectral response within the sweep of spectral responses, obtaining output from the detector resulting from the detection of each of the source radiation intensities affected by the sample, the detector output for each intensity being influenced by the detector's cut off wavelength at that intensity for that spectral response, wherein the combination of the detector's outputs at each of the intensities for the sweep of source radiation for each of the spectral responses in the detector sweep provide a combined set of data across a spectrum;
- and
- determine a characteristic of said sample based on said combined set of data.
A method of detecting material in a sample by using radiation directed at a sample and a detector to detect source radiation affected by the sample, the method comprising the steps of;
- varying the spectral response of said detector using biasing to produce a sweep of detector spectral responses, each spectral response having a cut off wavelength dependent on the intensity of incident radiation;
- directing radiation at said sample,
- for each detector spectral response within the sweep of spectral responses, varying the intensity of said radiation incident on or affected by said sample to produce a sweep of source radiation intensities,
- detecting at least radiation affected by said sample using the detector,
- for each detector spectral response within the sweep of spectral responses, obtain output from the detector resulting from the detection of each of the radiation intensities affected by said sample, the detector output for each intensity being influenced by the detector's cut off wavelength at that intensity for that spectral response, wherein the combination of the detector's outputs at each of the intensities for the sweep of radiation for each of the spectral responses in the detector sweep provide a combined set of data across a spectrum, and
- determining a characteristic of said sample based on said combined set of data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.