초록 ▼

A planar pressure transducer is disclosed which is useful for interposing between living tissue and a medical device that applies pressure to the tissue in order to estimate the pressure applied to a selected area of the tissue. The planar pressure transducer comprises a pair of opposed plates betwe

A planar pressure transducer is disclosed which is useful for interposing between living tissue and a medical device that applies pressure to the tissue in order to estimate the pressure applied to a selected area of the tissue. The planar pressure transducer comprises a pair of opposed plates between which the proximal ends of optical fibers and a deformable polymer structure are disposed. When the plates are subjected to a pressure acting normally to the plane of the plates an optical signal is obtained via the distal ends of the fibers and related to the pressure acting on the plates.

대표청구항 ▼

A planar pressure transducer is disclosed which is useful for interposing between living tissue and a medical device that applies pressure to the tissue in order to estimate the pressure applied to a selected area of the tissue. The planar pressure transducer comprises a pair of opposed plates betwe

A planar pressure transducer is disclosed which is useful for interposing between living tissue and a medical device that applies pressure to the tissue in order to estimate the pressure applied to a selected area of the tissue. The planar pressure transducer comprises a pair of opposed plates between which the proximal ends of optical fibers and a deformable polymer structure are disposed. When the plates are subjected to a pressure acting normally to the plane of the plates an optical signal is obtained via the distal ends of the fibers and related to the pressure acting on the plates. 1. A method of obtaining a sentinel lymph node optical tomographic image comprising the steps of: detecting a sentinel lymph node which exists in the vicinity of a target subject, scanning the detected sentinel lymph node with a signal-light which is a low-coherence light having a coherence length of 5 um or less, and obtaining an ultra high-resolution optical tomographic image of the sentinel lymph node by using the signal-light reflected from a predetermined depth of said sentinel lymph node and a reference-light having a slight difference in frequency with respect to said signal-light. 2. A method of obtaining a sentinel lymph node optical tomographic image as defined in claim 1, wherein the detecting of the sentinel lymph node comprises the steps of injecting in advance a near-infrared colorant that emits fluorescent light having a wavelength near the near-infrared wavelength band into the vicinity of a target subject including the sentinel lymph node, irradiating said target subject including the sentinel lymph node with an excitation light having a wavelength within the wavelength band causing excitation of said near-infrared fluorescent colorant, obtaining a fluorescent-light image formed of near-infrared fluorescent light emitted from said target subject upon the irradiation thereof by said excitation light, and detecting the sentinel lymph node based on said obtained fluorescent-light image. 3. A method of obtaining a sentinel lymph node optical tomographic image as defined in claim 2, wherein the position of the detected sentinel lymph node is matched with the scanning-position to be scanned with the signal-light. 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the fluorescent image of the target subject is displayed by a device including a charge coupled device (CCD). 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the wavelength of the low coherence light falls between a range 600-1000 nm. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the scanning comprises scanning the signal light along a linear path to scan the sentinel lymph node. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the scanning of the lymph node and obtaining the image of the lymph node are performed in vivo. 8. The method of claim 1 wherein detection of the sentinel lymph node comprises injection of a radioisotope to permeate the vicinity of the target substrate. 9. An apparatus for obtaining a sentinel lymph node optical tomographic image, comprising sentinel lymph node detecting means for detecting a sentinel lymph node which exists in the vicinity of a target subject, and an OCT means for scanning the detected sentinel lymph node with a signal-light, which is a low-coherence light having a coherence length of 5 um or less, and obtaining an ultra high-resolution optical tomographic image of the sentinel lymph node by using the reflected-light reflected from a predetermined depth of said sentinel lymph node and a reference-light having a slight difference in frequency with respect to said signal-light. 10. An apparatus for obtaining a sentinel lymph node optical tomographic image as defined in claim 9, wherein the sentinel lymph node detecting means comprises an excitation light emitting means for projecting onto the target subject an excitation light having a wavelength within the wavelength band causing excitation in a near-infrared fluorescent colorant that emits fluorescent light having a wavelength near the near-infrared wavelength band and which has been injected in advance into the vicinity of a target subject including the sentinel lymph node, an image obtaining means for obtaining a fluorescent-light image formed of the near-infrared fluorescent light emitted from said target subject upon the irradiation thereof by said excitation light, and a detecting means for detecting, based on the fluorescent-light image obtained by said image obtaining means, the sentinel lymph node. 11. An apparatus for obtaining a sentinel lymph node optical tomographic image as def