INFRARED IMAGING USING MULTIPLE WAVELENGTHS

摘要

For an infrared imaging catheter, means of achieving a spread of wavelengths or multiple wavelengths through a stacking arrangement of "monochromatic" laser diodes or LED's are disclosed. Since a stack of diodes or LED's have different temperatures, they produce a wavelength spread many times greater than a single laser diode or LED. The wavelength spread reduces speckle in the corresponding image. Adding wavelengths also improves the corresponding infrared image, since different wavelengths have different light penetration capabilities and can emphasize different biological entities.