Near infrared imaging

Abstract

An endoscope or wand device comprising transmitting members, in which the transmitting members comprise a coating that transmits between about 95% and about 99.5% of energy at a wavelength within the infra red spectrum.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 771,288 filed on Feb. 7, 2006, and entitled “Endoscopes and Wands”, U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 793,979 filed on Apr. 20, 2006 and entitled “Endoscopes and wands”, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 828,627 filed on Oct. 6, 2006 and entitled “Endoscopes and Wands”. Each of these applications is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Each of these are incorporated by reference in their entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]This application relates to endoscopes and similar devices.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]An endoscope or wand viewing apparatus is usually configured in a way that is well suited for illumination and imaging in visible light.[0004]In this background section endoscopes and wand like devices shall be described in terms of their internal working components. In the second portion of the background section the shortcomings of these predicat...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The patent text describes an endoscope or wand viewing apparatus and its internal components. The technical effects of the patent text include the use of laser induced fluorescence imaging for medical applications, the use of eyepieces for viewing and coupling to a camera system, the use of flexible endoscopes with limited flexibility, and the absence of eyepieces or ocular in some endoscopes. The endoscopes are most commonly fixed focus imaging devices with a small aperture and a small distance from the tip of the device to the subject that is in focus."

Problems solved by technology

There is a class of smaller diameter endoscopes utilizing coherent imaging fibers as relays whose shafts have a limited amount of flexibility, and these devices are commonly called semi-flexible.

There are some commercial applications of directly coupling the camera and optical assemblies included in the shaft mechanism and or coupling mechanism but this has not found wide acceptance, except in Orthopedics for Arthroscopy.

The fear among users has been that if the electronics of the camera fail for some reason then the doctor is left with no means to view within the patient, hence the continuing presence of endoscopes with eyepieces.

Chip-on-a-stick endoscopes usually do not provide a focus means.

However, large diameter flexible endoscopes used in gastroenterology do often have moveable detectors or lenses providing focus.

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