INFRARED ENDOSCOPIC IMAGING IN A LIQUID WITH SUSPENDED PARTICLES: METHOD AND APPARATUS

摘要

A device, and method for imaging an object that is situated within a fluid environment having suspended particles uses infrared illumination. In a representative application, a catheter (25) having fiber optics (48) is inserted into the vasculature of a patient. The fiber optics transmits infrared light to an optical head (46) at a distal end of the catheter, which transmits the light into a bloody environment to an object to be imaged. Light reflecting from the object is collected, and transmitted throughout the fiber optic to an infrared camera (39), so that an image is formed. Proper selection of the wavelength of infrared illumination allows objects to be imaged through what would otherwise be an opaque liquid. The invention has particular utility in the field of medical imaging.