Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.v.

Augustinus Laurentius Braun

Bernardus Hendrikus Wilhelmus Hendriks

Waltherus Cornelis Jozef Bierhoff

Cornelius Antonius Hezemans

Marjolein Van Der Voort

Nenad Mihajlovic

Rami Nachabe

Adrien Desjardins

Drazenko Babic

Bernardus H W Hendriks

Rik Harbers

Adrien Emmanuel Desjardins

Waltherus C J Bierhoff

Nanad Mihajlovic

Franciscus Martinus Antonius Maria Van Gaal

Leonardus Petrus Maria Tielemans

Rami NachabÉ

Bernardus Hendriks

Cornelius A Hezemans

Franciscus M A M Van Gaal

Adrien E Desjardins

Cornelius A N M Van Der Vleuten

Bernardus W J Wassink

Needle interventions are widely used in the field of oncology for taking biopsies of tissue in order to inspect whether tissue is cancerous or not. To make these interventions more reliable feedback of what kind of tissue is in front of the needle is required. A way to achieve this is by making use of optical spectroscopy. This requires integration of fibers into the needle. These fibers are used to deliver light to illuminate the tissue in front of the needle and to collect back the reflected light from the tissue. The present invention proposes to integrate the fiber distal ends in the slanted bevel of the needle in such a way that at least one source-detector fiber pair has a distance that is larger than the outer diameter of the needle.

Needle with optical fibers

An optical scanning probe assembly for microscopic guide optic scanning and inspection of tissues includes an outer housing having a spring element for a scanning motor. The spring element is formed as a hollow tube configured to receive an optical guide, where the hollow tube has a mechanical stiffness larger than the optical guide to be received. The assembly further includes a lens system and a deflector configured to deflect the distal end of the hollow tube in directions transverse to the longitudinal extension of the hollow tube, so as to form an optical scan pattern.

Optical scanning probe assembly

An optical probe and an optical imaging system include an optical guide, and an actuator having driving coils and a magnet. By supplying a driving current through the driving a magnetic flux is generated which causes a displacement of the distal end of the optical guide. A position measuring device includes a position measuring coil used for monitoring the position of the optical guide, where displacement of the guide distal end causes change in the relative positions of the measuring and driving coils. A power supply supplies a high frequency AC current through the driving coils which causes, an induced voltage in the position measuring coil and thus generates a magnetic coupling between the measuring and driving coils. This induced voltage change is indicative for the position of the distal end.

Optical probe having a position measuring system

Needles are widely used in interventional radiology. Each medical application requires a specific needle type. The same holds for the photonic needles which analysis depends on the type of application the clinician aims for. Therefore, it is relevant to have the X-ray machine recognize the type of needle that is being used and to load the required software for the tissue analysis. It is therefore proposed to have a data link established between the imaging modality used for the acquisition of the patient anatomy (X-ray, CT, MR or US) and the system that processes optical data from the needle, so that the information from this imaging modality can be used to guide the processing. In a preferred embodiment the selection is made by reading out the code present in the disposable needle when it is connected to the console.

Algorithm for photonic needle console

The present invention relates to an optical probe () suitable for miniature applications. An example application is a fiber-based confocal miniaturized microscope. The optical probe comprises a coil-based actuation system () comprising drive coils () capable of displacing the distal end () of an optical guide () housed () by the optical probe. The probe makes use of a feedback loop which alternate between driving the displacement of the optical guide by driving a current through the drive coils and switching off the current through the drive coils, and while the drive current being switched off, measure the speed of the distal end of the optical guide. The measured speed is compared to the set-point speed, and if a difference is detected, the drive current is adjusted to eliminate, or at least bring down, this difference.

Optical probe with feedback correction

A fiber scanning system is provided comprising a housing () with a fiber (), the fiber () comprising a fixed part and a free end, the fixed part being attached to a bottom of the housing () and the fiber () extending parallel to the wall of the housing (). At least one electrical coil () is attached to the wall at a position in between the fixed part and the free end of the fiber (), a winding of the electrical coil () being in a plane parallel to the fiber (). A magnet () is attached to the fiber (), such that the electrical coil () may induce a force on the magnet (). The magnet () is attached to the fiber () at a position just before or after the electrical coil (), a width of the magnet () being such that the magnet () extends over the electrical coil ().

Fiber scanning system having a magnet attached to the fiber at a position before or after an electrical coil with improved tip positioning

A filter arrangement for a recording/reproducing wherein To decrease the energy consumption of air filtering while ensuring good filtering results, the air filter arranged stationary within the housing to extend over the disc information surface, the airflow flowing axially through the filter and being induced by the naturally occurring pumping action of the rotating information disc, while the air flow resistance of the air inlet, the air filter and the air exhaust exhibit mutually adapted air flow resistance values substantially preventing any air flow from outside the casing, through the casing and out of the exhaust different from the air flow from the air inlet, through the air filter, the casing and out of the exhaust.

Recording/reproducing device

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Heeze, Netherlands

Augustinus Laurentius Braun