GASTROINTESTINAL ENDOSCOPIC OPTICAL FIBER FLUORIMETRY

RESEARCH ON NOVEL GASTROINTESTINAL ENDOSCOPIC OPTICAL FIBER FLUORIMETRY (GEOFF) SENSORS IS PROPOSED IN ANSWER TO THE EMPHATIC NEED FOR SIGNIFICANT GAINS IN NEW AND BETTER SENSORDEVICES IN CONNECTION WITH RESEARCH, DIAGNOSTIC, AND THERAPEUTIC ENDOSCOPIC PROCEDURES. THE MERITS OF PROMISING SINGLE- OR MULTI-STRANDED AND DISPOSABLE OPTICAL FIBER FLUORIMETRY SENSORS CONFIGURED TO AUGMENT THE FIBEROPTIC ENDOSCOPES WILL BE EVALUATED IN ANSWER TO A VARIETY OF APPLICATIONS, NAMELY: (1) INNOVATION TOWARD MORE DIRECT AND DETAILED INTERPRETATION OF TISSUE FLUORESCENCE IN VIVO USING DYES SUCH AS RHODAMINE 123 (RH-123), A MITOCHONDRIAL-SPECIFIC DYE; (2) ADAPTATIONS OF DISPOSABLE GEOFF SENSORS INTEGRATED WITH ENDOSCOPIC SYSTEMS TO UPGRADE AND EXTEND THE DIAGNOSTIC ABILITY OF ENDOSCOPIC PROCEDURES, AS WELL AS PROMOTE NEW CONFIGURATIONS OF ADVANCED ENDOSCOPIC DEVICES; AND (3) IMPLEMENTATION OF A FIRST GENERATION OF "SMART" ENDOSCOPIC DEVICES ENDOWED WITH "INTELLIGENCE" FUNCTIONS SUCH AS DETECTION, RECOGNITION, STORAGE, AND MANIPULATION OF TISSUE DATA OBTAINED FROM VISUAL AND NONVISUAL SPECTRAL CUES.