REMOTE FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY/FIBEROPTIC ENDOSCOPY

THIS PROJECT WILL MEASURE PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS IN SITU ENDOSCOPICALLY. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THE INTERPRETATION, IDENTIFICATION, AND MEASUREMENT OF CERTAIN PARAMETERS (E.G., PH, ELECTROLYTIC ION CONCENTRATION, AND BIOCHEMICAL TRANSFER MECHANISMS) CAN BE AUGMENTED AND ENHANCED BY DERIVING DATA FROM A LIFE (LASER-INDUCED FLUORESCENCE ENDOSCOPE) SYSTEM. THE LIFE SYSTEM IS BASED UPON THE CONCEPT OF FIBEROPTIC SPECTROSCOPY IN CONCERT WITH ULTRAVIOLET (U/V) LASER EXCITATION OF THE TARGET AREA AND ELECTRONIC DATA ACQUISITION MEANS TO STORE AND PROCESS THE RESULTING IMAGE AND ITS SPECTRA. PREVIOUS WORK IN THIS AREA EMPLOYED U/V LASERS AS THE EXCITATION MEANS, TYPICALLY OF THE HELIUM-CADMIUM TYPE. THESE LASERS ARE QUITE DELICATE, EXPENSIVE, AND HIGHLY MONOCHROMATIC. EVENTUALLY, ALTERNATE U/V LIGHT SOURCES THAT CAN BE DIRECTED AND SCANNED SO THAT VERY SMALL AREAS OF TISSUE CAN BE EXAMINED FOR SPECTRAL RESPONSE WITHOUT PHOTOBLEACHING NONCONTRIBUTING AREAS WILL BE INVESTIGATED. A MAJOR ADVANTAGE OF THIS APPROACH IS THAT IN THE FINAL EMBODIMENT THIS SYSTEM GIVES A COMPLETE TWO-DIMENSIONAL ENSEMBLE OF SPECTRAL DATA. IN EFFECT, EVERY POINT OF THE RECOVERED IMAGE WOULD HAVE ASSOCIATED WITH IT ITS RESPECTIVESPECTRAL "SIGNATURE". THESE DATA COULD PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR MORE ACCURATE DETECTION OF ANOMALIES AND COULD BE RECOVERED AND DISPLAYED AT EACH FREQUENCY BAND OF INTEREST.