| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 20080221447 | MEDICAL APPARATUS OBTAINING INFORMATION INDICATIVE OF INTERNAL STATE OF AN OBJECT BASED ON INTERACTION BETWEEN SOUND WAVES AND LIGHT - A medical apparatus acquires information indicating an internal state of a region being examined of an object based on a modulated component of light caused by interaction with ultrasound waves in the region. In the apparatus, light radiating component have a light radiating member radiating the light toward the region of the object, and light detecting components have a light detecting member detecting light that has been transmitted through the region of the object. The light radiating and detecting components are supported by support components to be opposed to each other with the region located between the light radiating and detecting members. An ultrasound emitting component emits the ultrasound waves toward the region from a direction different from a radiating direction of the light radiated from the light radiating member. The emitted ultrasound waves modulates the radiated light. | 09-11-2008 |
| 20090043156 | MEDICAL APPARATUS OBTAINING INFORMATION INDICATIVE OF INTERNAL STATE OF AN OBJECT BASED ON INTERACTION BETWEEN ULTRASOUND WAVES AND LIGHT - A biological observation system is provided, which is mounted in en endoscope so as to acquire information indicating the internal state of a body tissue of an object using the interaction between ultrasound waves and light. The endoscope is equipped with an ultrasound generating member, a light transmitting/receiving member, and a moving member. The ultrasound generating member generates ultrasound waves toward a region to be examined of an object. The light transmitting/receiving member radiates light from a light source toward the region to be examined and receives light reflected by a region of the ultrasound waves within the region to be examined. The moving member spatially moves both the ultrasound generating member and the light transmitting/receiving member together as a unitary member. | 02-12-2009 |
| 20090048489 | MEDICAL APPARATUS OBTAINING INFORMATION INDICATIVE OF INTERNAL STATE OF AN OBJECT BASED ON INTERACTION BETWEEN ULTRASOUND WAVES AND LIGHT - In a medical apparatus, an ultrasound generator generates ultrasound waves to be radiated into the region, and an ultrasound radiating-direction changing member changes in the region a radiating direction of the ultrasound waves to be generated by the ultrasound generator. An ultrasound converging member converges in the region the ultrasound waves subjected to the change of the radiating direction. Light which is reachable to the region is emitted from a light source unit. A light transmitting/receiving member radiates light emitted from the light source unit and receives light reflected in a converged region of the ultrasound waves in the region. Based on the reflected light, information showing the internal state in a desired deeper region in the membrana mucosa of the body tissue of the object. | 02-19-2009 |
| 20090069687 | MEDICAL APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING INFORMATION INDICATIVE OF INTERNAL STATE OF AN OBJECT BASED ON PHYSICAL INTERACTION BETWEEN ULTRASOUND WAVE AND LIGHT - A medical apparatus comprises a sound-wave radiating member and a light radiating member. The sound-wave radiating member radiates ultrasound wave into an object, the ultrasound wave having a plurality of frequency components different from each other. The light radiating member radiates light into a region within the object, the ultrasound wave being already radiated into the region. Thus, the light reflects and scatters at depth-directional higher-density local portions of the object, which are caused by the ultrasound wave inside the object. Further, the apparatus comprises a light receiving member receiving light reflected in the region in response to the radiated light. In this apparatus, information indicative of a reflected (and scattered) state of the radiated light in the region is calculated based on the received light and the radiated ultrasound wave. For example, the ultrasound wave being radiated increases its frequency over time. | 03-12-2009 |
| 20090154784 | BIOLOGICAL OBSERVATION APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR OBTAINING INFORMATION INDICATIVE OF INTERNAL STATE OF AN OBJECT USING SOUND WAVE AND LIGHT - A biological observation apparatus comprises a sound wave radiating unit that radiates a sound wave into an object, a control unit that controls radiation of the sound wave, a light radiating unit that radiates light into the object while successively changing a wavelength thereof, a light receiving unit that receives object light generated when the radiated light is reflected at an area inside the object, a light detector that obtains first interference light caused by interference between the radiated light and first object light received when the sound wave is not radiated and obtains second interference light caused by interference between the radiated light and second object light received when the sound wave is radiated, and a calculation unit that calculates information, indicative of a scattered state of the radiated light, of an area where the sound wave is radiated, based on the first and the second interference light. | 06-18-2009 |
| 20090221911 | BIOLOGICAL OBSERVATION APPARATUS AND METHOD - A biological observation apparatus according to the present invention includes a sound wave radiating unit that radiates a sound wave into an object to be examined in living tissue, a light radiating unit that radiates light into the object, a light interfering unit that makes the light radiated from the light radiating unit interfere with light reflected from an area where the sound wave reaches and radiates interference light, a light detector that detects the interference light radiated from the light interfering unit and outputs an interference signal corresponding to the interference light, and a calculation unit that calculates the amount of frequency modulation of the radiated light based on the interference signal outputted from the light detector and calculates a difference value between the two adjacent amounts of frequency modulation in sequence. | 09-03-2009 |
| 20090312628 | BIOLOGICAL OBSERVATION APPARATUS AND METHOD - A biological observation apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a sound wave radiating unit that radiates a sound wave into an object to be examined, a light radiating unit that radiates first light having a predetermined wavelength and second light different from the first light into a portion of the object influenced by the sound wave, a detector that detects reflected light of the first light and reflected light of the second light, and a calculation unit that calculates lo characteristic information of the object based on the reflected light of the first light and the reflected light of the second light. | 12-17-2009 |
| 20100051789 | IMAGING SYSTEM - An imaging system according to the present invention includes: a light source unit which emits illuminating light to illuminate an object; an illuminating-light transmitting unit which transmits the illuminating light; a timing adjustment unit which, being placed between the illuminating-light transmitting unit and the object, varies timing with which rays contained in the illuminating light which has passed through the illuminating-light transmitting unit reach a surface of the object; a reflected-light incidence unit upon which reflected light coming from the surface of the object is incident; a light detection unit which temporally breaks down the reflected light incident upon the reflected-light incidence unit, converts the reflected light into an electrical signal, and outputs the electrical signal in sequence; and a signal processing unit which converts the electrical signal outputted in sequence by the light detection unit into pixel information about an optical image on the surface of the object. | 03-04-2010 |
| 20110021907 | BIOMEDICAL IMAGING APPARATUS AND BIOMEDICAL TOMOGRAPHIC IMAGE GENERATION METHOD - A biomedical imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes: an ultrasound generating section configured to output ultrasound to a predetermined region in an object under examination; an illuminating light generating section configured to emit illuminating light to the predetermined region upon which the ultrasound is incident; a phase component detecting section configured to time-resolve return light of the illuminating light emitted to the predetermined region, from the first time point to the Nth time point, and thereby detect the first to the Nth phase components of the return light corresponding to the first time point to the Nth time point; and a computing section configured to perform a process for subtracting a sum of the first to the (N−1)th phase components from the Nth phase component based on the phase components detected by the phase component detecting section. | 01-27-2011 |
| 20110164249 | LIGHT SPECTRUM DETECTION METHOD - Optical spectrum of a light irradiated on the object, a spontaneous light emitted from within the object or a surface thereof, a scattered light, a transmitted light, a reflected light or a refracted light from within the object or a surface thereof generated by irradiating light on the object is resolved by amplifying said lights in a bandwidth narrower than the bandwidth of the optical spectrum of said lights. Thus, a method for detecting optical spectrum is provided in which signal intensity is amplified while deterioration of spectral data is suppressed. | 07-07-2011 |
