US Government as Represented by the Secretary of the Army

Vision Partners, L.p.

Wayne E Davenport

Travis S Taylor

John J Ehrlich

Paul B Ruffin

Daniel Lee Shumate

Jack R Bellows

The present application relates to an internal optical spectroscope comprising: a needle sleeve insertable into and removable from targeted living tissue; a shaft housed by the needle sleeve including at least one v-shaped trough including an aft side and a next-to-aft side; a light source comprising variable light wave lengths of both visible and near infrared light; at least one light transmission fiber comprising a transmitting end; at least one light detector fiber comprising a receptive end; and data processor. The present application also relates to a method of performing an optical biopsy in situ.

Internal optical spectroscope and method for real time in-situ diagnosis in living cells

A detection device for detecting ocular disease and abnormalities in human yes. The ocular disease and abnormality detection device includes a photo-imaging device having a lens aligned on a selected optical axis. A flash unit generates a flash beam of light generally along the optical axis to produce retinal reflections from a patient's eyes. The retinal reflections from the patient's eyes are recorded by the photo-imaging device and displayed on a video display screen. A beamsplitter is positioned on the optical axis to pass the flash beam of light from the flash device to the patient's eyes, and to pass the retinal reflection from the patient's eyes to the photo-imaging device. A visual image is projected on a surface of the beamsplitter which appears to the patient's eyes as being positioned on the optical axis and generally superimposed on the lens of the photo-imaging device. The patient's eyes generally focus on the lens of the photo-imaging device as the patient views the projected image. A separate camera and video display is provided to monitor the patient's face. Patient information is preferably recorded with the retinal reflections from the patient's eyes. Methods of detecting ocular disease and abnormalities are also disclosed.

Method and apparatus for detecting ocular disease and abnormalities

This invention provides a means for detecting local atmospheric contaminants from safe distances. The invention means of a detector system comprise a pulsed laser, a sensitive photo-detector, various optical filters, and necessary digital control circuitry. The detector system employs laser technology in combination with a sensitive photo-detector to achieve detection of any hazardous gas elements or other pollutants remotely located from personnel who may subsequently be exposed. In operation, a pulsed laser or a tunable dye laser is employed as an excitation source for the contaminant or pollutant to achieve excitation of the contaminant or pollutant. When the excited molecule of the contaminant or pollutant returns to ground-state it emits a photon at a given (measurable) frequency. A sensitive photo-detector is filtered to permit detection of only the frequency at which a harmful gas (as an example of a contaminant or pollutant) fluoresces. Various filters can be utilized at once to enable the detector to detect more than one pollutant at a time. A timer in the system determines time elapse from the time the laser is pulsed to the time a photon is detected, the location of the gas pollutant can then be determined. Similarly, by relating distance and intensity of fluorescence via the detector, the density of the gas pollutant in the local atmosphere can be determined. The entire system is controlled by simple compact digital technology.

Atmospheric contaminant detector

The structure of this invention provides a means for shielding an optically ensitive detector, device, or components from electromagnetic fields without shielding them from the optical spectra desired to be transmitted. The structure of the invention is in the form of an optically transmissive Faraday cage or box having optically transparent material selected from optical glass and optically transparent plastic which functions as a substrate. The substrate is provided a thin film of predetermined skin depths in the form of a conductive coating selected from silver and a nickel-chromiumiron-manganese-silicon-copper-alloy. The conductive coating is applied in a thickness equivalent to a predetermined number of skin depths in order to attenuate an external electromagnetic field strength to meet the tolerance of the detector, device, or components which are to be shielded.

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Huntsville, AL, United States of America

Wayne E Davenport