Transillumination of body members for protection during body invasive procedures

摘要

An apparatus and method for protecting a body member from damage during a body intrusive procedure in a region adjacent the body member to be protected includes a source of infrared energy introduced into a light guide that is introduced into the body member to be protected; a source of visible light is introduced into the region, this latter source being pulsed at the frame rate of a monitor energized by an infrared sensitive video camera that receives light from such region, the camera being sensitive to infrared energy as well as visible light. In another embodiment of the invention both sources are pulsed in alternation so that the images produced by the different sources are basically emphasized in alternation. A signal source for producing audible and/or visual signals may be provided with a light guide to view the region under investigation. The signal source may be synchronized with the infrared source to protect against false signals produced by the visual light.