Laser-induced fluorescence in medical diagnostics

We have performed extensive investigations using laser-induced fluorescence in animal as well as human tissue in order to localize diseased tissue and thus discriminate such tissue from normal surrounding areas. In characterizing different tissue types the endogenous fluorescence (autofluorescence) as well as specific fluorescence from different photosensitising substances was utilized. We have investigated different experimental and human malignant tumors in vivo and in vitro as well as atherosclerotic lesions in vitro. A fiber-optic fluorosensor was constructed and used in the experiments and in the clinical examination of patients. Dimensionless spectroscopic functions were formed to ensure that the signals were independent of clinically uncontrollable variables such as distance variations, tissue topography, light source fluctuations and variations in detection efficiency. A multi-color two-dimensional imaging system was constructed for real-time imaging. The system was tested peroperatively and during standard examination patient procedures. Besides utilizing the time-integrated fluorescence signal we have also investigated the possibility of incorporating time-resolved fluorescence characterization.