Importance

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Abstract

A medical monitor, and related method, determines a pre-existing physiological property of an organ of a patient by monitoring fluorescent light produced by constituents associated with the metabolic and structural condition of the organ. The monitor illuminates the organ with ultraviolet excitation light that induces some constituents of the organ to fluoresce, with the fluorescent light being monitored and processed to determine pre-existing physiological properties of the organ. A sensor monitors the return light, which includes fluorescent light produced by the fluorescent constituents of the organ, and generates first and second electrical signals indicative of the intensity of light at two wavelength. One wavelength is associated with the fluorescence of collagen, a constituent associated with organ's structural properties, and the other wavelength is a associated with the fluorescence of NADH, a constituent associated with the organ's metabolism. A processor then processes the first and second electrical signals to determine the localized pH of the organ. A fiber-optic waveguide is used to guide the excitation light from the laser light source to the organ and the return light from the organ to the sensor. In another aspect of the invention, the sensor generates a third electrical signal associated with the fluorescence of elastin, a constituent associated with the organ's structural properties. The processor processes the first, second and third electrical signals to determine the perfusion or oxygenation of the organ.

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First Claim