Non-ionizing imager

摘要

A medical imager, primarily for use in oral and dental applications. The imager has a source for providing a plurality of collimated beams of non-ionizing radiation, in particular near-infrared light, and a plurality of correlated detectors. Each detector is arranged to receive unscattered light from one or part of one of said collimated beams and scattered light from one or more other beams. The imager further comprises means for using both the unscattered and scattered light to form an image.

主权项

1. A medical imager comprising:
a source comprising at least one of a fiber array, a pixelated device, a digital mirror that has a plurality of mirror pixels, a plurality of light emitting elements, or at least one LED positioned at the focal point of a collimating lens, configured for providing a plurality of collimated beams of non-ionizing radiation to at least one of a sample of a biological material or a part of a human or animal body; a plurality of detectors, wherein each of said plurality of collimated beams is mapped to at least one detector so that each detector is configured to receive only unscattered light from only its mapped beam or scattered light from one or more other beams; and a computer processor configured to:
cause the source to provide at least one of one collimated beam or a group of collimated beams selected to avoid cross talk for passing through a sample for detection by the plurality of detectors;identify light detected at one or more detectors mapped to the collimated beam or beams as the unscattered light, and identify light at other detectors as the scattered light; anduse both the unscattered and scattered light to form an image.