{
  "patent_number": "US RE38800",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How to Take 3D Pictures Inside Human Tissue Using Near-Infrared Light",
  "original_title": "USRE38800E1 - NIR clinical opti-scan system",
  "summary": "A system that uses flexible fiber optic cables to map the inside of complex body parts by shining light through them and measuring how it scatters.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a way to create 3D images of internal body structures by shining near-infrared light into tissue and collecting the light that bounces back out. It uses an adjustable support structure, like a flexible frame, that holds a large array of fiber optic cables against the uneven surface of a body part. These fibers act as both the light source and the light collector, allowing the system to capture data from many different points simultaneously. A detector then measures this scattered light, and a computer uses that data to calculate what the internal tissue looks like in three dimensions.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover imaging techniques that rely on X-rays or ionizing radiation.",
    "Does not cover systems that lack the specific adjustable fiber-holding assembly for irregular surfaces.",
    "Does not cover ultrasound or MRI-based imaging methods.",
    "Does not cover imaging that requires invasive surgical entry into the body."
  ],
  "filed": "2002-06-27",
  "granted": "2005-09-20",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Research Foundation of the State University of New York",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/research-foundation-of-the-state-university-of-new-york",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Randall L. Barbour",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/randall-l-barbour"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 25,
  "tags": [
    "biotech",
    "medical_devices",
    "consumer_electronics"
  ],
  "abstract": "The present invention relates to three-dimensional optical imaging techniques and, more particularly, to the detection and three-dimensional imaging of absorbing and/or scattering structures in complex random media, such as human body tissue, by detecting scattered light emerging from the medium. An apparatus for optical tomographic imaging of tissue structures with non-uniform surface geometries in accordance with the invention comprises: an optical source capable of providing light having a wavelength capable of at least attenuated transmission through the tissue; a fiber array consisting of fiber bundles for transmitting light from the optical source to the tissue to be imaged, and a second fiber array consisting of fiber bundles for receiving light scattered by the tissue; an adjustable assembly comprising an adjustable support member supporting one end of each fiber bundle, the fiber bundles being distributed along the portion of each support member which conforms to a surface of a specimen being imaged so as to transmit light into, and collect light emanating from, the surface of the imaged tissue at a multitude of spaced-apart points; and a detector array receiving light collected by the fibers in the second fiber bundle.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/RE38800/digital-video-recorder-dvr",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/RE38800/digital-video-recorder-dvr/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/USRE38800",
  "relatedPatents": []
}