Systems and methods for recording simultaneously visible light image and infrared light image from fluorophores

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10803578-B2
Application number	US-201615195850-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 28, 2016
Priority date	Apr 23, 2013
Publication date	Oct 13, 2020
Grant date	Oct 13, 2020

Abstract

The invention provides systems and methods for imaging a sample. In various embodiments, the invention provides a system comprising an image sensor, a laser for emitting excitation light for an infrared or near-infrared fluorophore, a visible light source, a notch beam splitter, a notch filter, a synchronization module, an image processing unit, an image displaying unit, and light-conducting channels. In various embodiments, the present invention provides a system comprising an image sensor, a laser for emitting excitation light for an infrared or near-infrared fluorophore, a laser clean-up filter, a notch filter, a white light source, an image processing unit, an image displaying unit, and light-conducting channels. In accordance with the present invention, the image sensor can detect both visible light and infrared light.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An imaging system for imaging a sample comprising an infrared or near-infrared fluorophore, comprising:
a single image sensor;
a pulsed laser to emit an excitation light for the infrared or near-infrared fluorophore,
wherein the excitation light is conducted to the sample along an emission light path in a first direction within a first channel;
wherein the excitation light excites the infrared or near-infrared fluorophore in the sample to emit an emission light, and
wherein the emission light is conducted to the image single sensor along the emission light path in a second direction opposite the first direction and overlapping at least partially within the first channel;

a laser clean-up filter in the light path from the pulsed laser to the sample;
a notch filter in the emission light path from the sample to the single image sensor,
wherein the notch filter blocks a portion of the excitation light reflected from the sample towards the image single sensor, and wherein the blocking range of the notch filter is broader than the transmitting range of the laser clean-up filter;

a white light source to emit a light comprising visible light,
wherein the visible light is conducted to the sample,
wherein the sample reflects the visible light,
wherein the reflected visible light is conducted to the image sensor; and

an image processing unit to process signals from the single image sensor to generate a white light frame (WLF) when the sample receives only visible light, a stray light frame (SLF) when the sample receives neither visible light nor the excitation light, and two or more near infrared frames (NIFs) when the sample receives only the excitation light to reduce a ghosting effect;
wherein the single image sensor is configured to detect both the emission light and the visible light from the sample and configured to generate sensor signals, and wherein the image sensor comprises blue, green and red pixel sensors.

2. The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein there is no Fabry-Perot etalon, Raman analysis filter wheel, dispersive element, dispersive prism, isosceles prism, diffraction grating, reflection-type diffraction grating, or transmission-type diffraction grating in the emission light path from the sample to the single image sensor.

3. The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the emission light is not dispersed or filtered for Raman band selection in the emission light path from the sample to the single image sensor.

4. The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the single image sensor is configured not to detect Raman scattered light from the sample.

5. The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the infrared or near-infrared fluorophore is any one or more of indocyanine green (ICG), a functional equivalent of ICG, an analog of ICG, a derivative of ICG, a salt of ICG, IR800, Alexa680, cy5.5, a functional equivalent of IR800, a functional equivalent of Alexa680, a functional equivalent of cy5.5, an analog of IR800, an analog of Alexa680, an analog of cy5.5, a derivative of IR800, a derivative of Alexa680, a derivative of cy5.5, a salt of IR800, a salt of Alexa 680, and a salt of cy5.5, or combinations thereof.

6. The imaging system of any one of claims 1 - 5 , wherein the single sensor is synchronized to an on and off status of the laser.

7. The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the white light source is pulsed.

8. The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the single image sensor is a CCD image sensor.

9. The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the single image sensor is a CMOS image sensor.

10. The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the laser clean-up filter is not a spatial filter.

11. The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the excitation light comprises light having a wavelength of about 749-789 or 775-795 nm.

12. The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the laser clean-up filter selectively transmits light having a wavelength of about 749-789 or 775-795 nm.

13. The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the notch filter selectively blocks light having a wavelength of about 749-789, 770-800, 765-805, or 760-810 nm.

14. The imaging system of claim 1 , further comprising a notch beam splitter in the light path from the pulsed laser to the sample, whereby the excitation light is reflected by the notch beam splitter to the sample.

15. The imaging system of claim 1 , further comprising a notch beam splitter in the light path from the white light source to the sample, whereby the visible light is transmitted to the sample.

16. The imaging system of claim 1 , further comprising a notch beam splitter that reflects light having a wavelength of about 700, 725, or 750 nm.

17. The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the image processing unit is connected to the single image sensor.

18. The imaging system of claim 17 , wherein the image processing unit subtracts the SLF from each NIF and then adds together all SLF-subtracted NIFs to generate a final NIF.

19. The imaging system of claim 18 , wherein the image processing unit false colors the final NIF.

20. The imaging system of claim 19 , wherein the image processing unit adds the false colored final NIF to the WLF to generate a composite image frame of visible light and infrared light.

21. The imaging system of claim 17 , further comprising an image displaying unit to display images based on the image frames generated from the image processing unit, wherein the image displaying unit is connected to the image processing unit.

22. The imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the excitation light from the pulsed laser is conducted to the sample through one or more channels, and/or wherein the visible light from the white light source is conducted to the sample through one or more channels, and/or wherein the emission light emitted from the sample is conducted to the single image sensor through one or more channels, and/or wherein the visible light reflected from the sample is conducted to the single image sensor through one or more channels.

23. The imaging system of claim 1 ,
wherein the excitation light from the pulsed laser is further conducted to the sample through a third light channel housed in an endoscope;
wherein the visible light from the white light source is conducted to the sample through a fourth light channel housed in the endoscope; and
wherein the single image sensor is housed in the endoscope at or near the patient end of the endoscope.

24. The imaging system of claim 23 , wherein the third light channel is an optical cable.

25. The imaging system of claim 23 , wherein the fourth light channel is an optical cable.

26. The imaging system of claim 23 , further comprising one or more lenses in the emission light path and/or the visible light path from the sample to the single image sensor, wherein the one or more lenses are located at or near the patient end of the endoscope.

27. A method for imaging a sample comprising an infrared or near-infrared fluorophore, comprising:
operating a pulsed laser to emit an excitation light for the infrared or near-infrared fluorophore;
conducting the excitation light to the sample along an emission light path in a first direction within a first channel to excite the infrared or near-infrared fluorophore in the sample to emit an emission light;
conducting the emission light to a single image sensor along the emission light path in a second direction opposite the fi

Assignees

• Cedars Sinai Medical Center

Inventors

• Butte Pramod
• Mamelak Adam

Classifications

• H04N23/56

  provided with illuminating means · CPC title

• H04N23/11

  for generating image signals from visible and infrared light wavelengths · CPC title

• H04N23/51

  Housings · CPC title

• H04N23/74

  by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means · CPC title

• A61B1/00009 Primary

  of image signals during a use of endoscope · CPC title