Sharp fibrous needle probe for the in-depth optical diagnostics of tumours by endogenous fluorescence

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9179845-B2
Application number	US-201013384496-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 20, 2010
Priority date	Jul 20, 2009
Publication date	Nov 10, 2015
Grant date	Nov 10, 2015

Abstract

An optical sharp fibrous needle probe includes an optical fiber in a hollow needle ending in a cutting point. The optical fiber is inserted and bonded in the hollow of the needle and then polished to take on the exact needle cutting shape. The material to be explored is pricked by the needle. A light injection and recovery device is placed at the inlet of the fiber. The material located at the sharp end of the needle backscatters the incident light and generates an endogenous fluorescence signal. A part of this luminous flux is recovered by the point of the needle and sent back to the injection and recovery device. The same analyses the light in strength, duration and wavelength and enables a diagnostics without taking the in-depth explored material. An optical telemeter placed on the outer tip of the needle enables the depth of the explored area to be known.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device for in-depth in vivo observation or diagnostics of a compact biological tissue or a living organ, in particular a tumor, comprising:
a probe provided with a proximal end on an operator side and a distal end on the side of the tissue to be observed or diagnosed, and comprising a hollow needle ending at the distal end in a cutting point able to penetrate a surface of the tissue to be observed or diagnosed and to sink within said tissue, wherein the needle includes and integrally surrounds a single optical fiber of the multimode type, the distal end of which has an exact cutting shape of the distal end of the needle and in the continuity of the cutting point of the needle, the distal end of the needle and of the optical fiber having a tapering profile with a single bevel forming an angle with the longitudinal axis of the needle, the angle being between 10° and 25°, wherein the needle surrounds the optical fiber except on the single bevel; and
a light injection and recovery means connected to a proximal end of said optical fiber and arranged to inject a feed forward, continuous, low energy light signal into the proximal end of the optical fiber and to receive out of the proximal end of said optical fiber at least one feedback light signal of endogenous fluorescence generated by excitation due to said injected light, said feedback light signal being collected through said bevel of said optical fiber;
wherein the light injection and recovery means comprises an analyzing device for measuring said feedback signal, said analyzing device comprising separating means that separate said feedback signal according to a wavelength regardless of time, thus obtaining a steady-state spectral analyzing.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the light injection and recovery means injects a light with a wavelength between 370 and 420 nanometers.

3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the light injection and recovery means comprises a laser light source for generating the light to be injected;
A separating element through which the light from the light source passes; and
An objective lens to focus the light to inside the optical fiber after passing through the separating element:
wherein the feedback light signal coming from the single optical fiber is collected by the objective lens, and then redirected to the separating element which sends the feedback light signal to the analyzing device.

4. The device according to claim 3 , wherein the laser light source is a laser diode at 405 nm.

5. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the analyzing device comprises an interference filter cutting off a wavelength of the injected light and passing higher wavelengths, and an objective lens focusing at least part of the feedback light signal onto an inlet of a cooled spectrophotometer.

6. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the separating means has a separating wavelength 5 to 30 nm higher than that of the injected light, to separate at least part of the feedback light signal into:
a first path comprising light which corresponds to wavelengths of the endogenous fluorescence of the observed tissues and is focused by an objective lens onto a first photodetector; and
a second path comprising light which corresponds to wavelength of the injected light and is focused by an objective lens onto a second photodetector.

7. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the probe comprises a needle having dimensions equal to or lower than dimensions of 23 gauge needles.

8. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the fiber within the needle is a silica fiber, optimized for transmission in a blue green spectrum and with a core in the order of 200 gm.

9. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising optical telemetry means which are attached to an outer part of the probe and arranged to measure and transmit a sinking depth of said probe into the tissue, from a measure of a distance up to an outer surface of said tissue.

10. The device according to claim 9 , wherein the optical telemetry means comprises at least one pair of juxtaposed optical fibers, among which a first telemetry fiber sends in parallel to the longitudinal axis of the needle a light beam to the outer surface of the tissue to be observed, and a second telemetry fiber recovers the light backscattered by said surface and is connected to a phototransistor or a photodiode which measures a fraction backscattered by the surface within a luminous flux emitted by the first telemetry fiber, thereby providing a measure of the distance up to said outer surface.

11. The device according to claim 9 , wherein the optical telemetry means comprises an optical triangulation telemeter.

12. The device according to claim 9 , wherein the probe is adapted to be introduced into an operating channel of an endoscope with the telemetry means located at a distal outlet of the operating channel, for in vivo observation or diagnostics of inside of compact tissues or organs by sinking through an envelope of said tissues or organs from a path accessible through endoscopy.

13. The device according to claim 12 , wherein digital computing means are arranged to trigger and record a plurality of measures at a plurality of different depths during a movement of the probe along the longitudinal axis of the needle, and to correlate the analysis of the plurality of measures with said plurality of depths.

14. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the light injection and recovery means has a power of 20 mW.

15. A device for in-depth in vivo observation or diagnostics of a compact biological tissue or a living organ, in particular a tumor, comprising:
a probe provided with a proximal end on an operator side and a distal end on the side of the tissue to be observed or diagnosed, and comprising a hollow needle ending at the distal end in a cutting point able to penetrate a surface of the tissue to be observed or diagnosed and to sink within said tissue, wherein the needle includes and integrally surrounds a single optical fiber bonded in the hollow of the needle so as to be integrally surrounded by the metallic wall of the needle in a uniform manner, said fiber being of the multimode type, the distal end of which has an exact cutting shape of the distal end of the needle and in the continuity of the cutting point of the needle, the distal end of the needle and of the optical fiber has a tapering profile with a single bevel forming an angle with the longitudinal axis of the needle, the angle being between 10° and 25°, wherein the needle surrounds the optical fiber except on the single bevel; and
a light injection and recovery means connected to a proximal end of said optical fiber and arranged to inject a feed forward, continuous, low energy light signal into the proximal end of the optical fiber and to receive out of the proximal end of said optical fiber at least one feedback light signal of endogenous fluorescence generated by excitation due to said injected light, said feedback light signal being collected through said bevel of said optical fiber;
wherein the light injection and recovery means comprises an analyzing device for measuring said feedback signal, said analyzing device comprising separating means that separate said feedback signal according to a wavelength, regardless of time, thus obtaining a steady-state spectral analyzing.

16. The device according to claim 15 , wherein the light injection and recovery means has a power of 20 mW.

Assignees

• Farcy René Alfred
• Al Chab Lama
• Dupuis Guillaume
• Fontaine-Aupart Marie-Pierre
• Université Paris Sud
• Centre Nat Rech Scient

Inventors

• Farcy René Alfred
• Al Chab Lama
• Dupuis Guillaume
• Fontaine-Aupart Marie-Pierre

Classifications

• G01N21/645

  Specially adapted constructive features of fluorimeters · CPC title

• G01N21/6486

  Measuring fluorescence of biological material, e.g. DNA, RNA, cells (G01N21/6428 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A61B5/14556

  by fluorescence (A61B5/14555 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A61B5/6848

  Needles · CPC title

• A61B5/4312

  Breast evaluation or disorder diagnosis (optical mammography A61B5/0091) · CPC title