Method and apparatus for terahertz imaging
View Patent ↗In an apparatus and method for imaging a sample: a) the sample to be imaged is irradiated with pulsed electro-magnetic radiation with a plurality of frequencies in the range from 50 GHz to 84 THz; b) an area of the sample is subdivided into a two dimensional array of pixels, and radiation from each pixel is detected over a plurality of frequencies; and c) an image is generated from the radiation detected in step (b) preferably using a frequency or a selection of frequencies from the plurality of frequencies in the pulsed electro-magnetic radiation. The method can be used as a medical imaging technique and can be used to image cancer tumors.
1. A method of imaging a sample, comprising:
a) irradiating the sample to be imaged with pulsed electro-magnetic radiation with a plurality of frequencies in the range of 50 GHz to 84 THz;
b) subdividing an area of the sample into a two dimensional array of pixels, and detecting radiation from each pixel over a plurality of frequencies; and
c) generating an image of the area of the sample from the radiation detected in step (b) by calculating the difference between the temporal positions of a maxima and a minima of the radiation detected in step (b) for each pixel.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the image is generated by calculating the difference between the temporal positions of the main minimum and maximum peaks.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (c) further comprises the step of multiplying the difference between the temporal position of the maxima and minima, by a magnitude of the radiation.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the magnitude of the radiation is the difference in magnitude between the minimum and maxima of the detected radiation.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the magnitude of the radiation is the minimum or maximum of the detected radiation.
6. A method of imaging a sample, the method comprising the steps of:
a) irradiating the sample to be imaged with pulsed electro-magnetic radiation with a plurality of frequencies in the range from 50 GHz to 84 THz;
b) subdividing an area of the sample into a two dimensional array of pixels, and detecting radiation from each pixel over a plurality of frequencies; and
c) generating an image of the area of the sample from the radiation detected in step (b) by calculating the difference between the magnitude of a maxima and a minima of the radiation detected in step (b) for each period.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the peak minima and maxima are the main minimum and maximum.
8. The method of claim 6 , configured to image the difference between ordinary and diseased tissue.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the difference between diseased tissue and non diseased tissue is determined by the different and/or absorption reflectance and/or dispersion of THz light which is irradiated to organisms on living tissue in-vivo and in-vitro.
10. The method of claim 6 , wherein the method is configured to distinguish differences in bone density of the imaged sample.
11. The method of claim 6 , wherein the method is configured to distinguish between the different types of tissue which comprise human or animal teeth.
12. The method of claim 6 , wherein the method is configured to image Breast cancer.
13. A method for detecting cancer in a sample, the method comprising the steps of:
a) irradiating the sample with pulsed electromagnetic radiation with a plurality of frequencies in the range from 50 GHz to 84 THz;
b) subdividing an area of the sample into a two dimensional array of pixels, and detecting radiation from each pixel over a plurality of frequencies;
c) generating an image of the area of the sample from the radiation detected in step (b).
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein step (c) comprises the step of plotting the refractive index of the sample for each pixel to generate the image.
15. The method of claim 13 , wherein step (c) comprises the step of plotting the absorption coefficient of the sample to generate the image.
16. The method of claim 13 , wherein step (c) comprises the step of plotting the maxima or minima of the electric field for each pixel.
17. The method of claim 13 , wherein step (c) comprises the step of plotting the time of flight of the THz pulse through the sample for each pixel.
18. The method of claim 13 , the method further comprising the step of analyzing the detected radiation for the presence of lime in the sample.
19. The method of claim 13 , wherein the method further comprises the step of analyzing the water content in the sample.
20. The method of claim 13 , wherein the sample is a human or animal breast or comprises human or animal skin.
21. The method of claim 13 , wherein the said area of the sample comprises an area where there is a suspected tumor and a healthy area of the sample.
22. An apparatus for imaging a sample, the apparatus comprising:
a) an emitter for irradiating the sample with pulsed electro-magnetic radiation having a plurality of frequencies in the range from 50 GHz to 84 THz;
b) means for subdividing an area of the sample into a two dimensional array of pixels;
c) a detector for detecting radiation from each pixel over a plurality of frequencies; and
d) means for generating an image of the area of the sample from the detected radiation by using a frequency or a selection of frequencies from the plurality of frequencies in the pulsed electro-magnetic radiation.
23. An apparatus for imaging a sample, the apparatus comprising:
a) an emitter for irradiating the sample with pulsed electro-magnetic radiation having a plurality of frequencies in the range from 50 GHz to 84 THz;
b) means for subdividing an area of the sample into a two dimensional array of pixels;
c) a detector for detecting radiation from each pixel over a plurality of frequencies; and
d) means generating an image of the area of the sample from the detected radiation by calculating the difference between the temporal positions of a maximum and a minimum of the detected radiation detected for each pixel.
24. An apparatus for imaging a sample, the apparatus comprising:
a) an emitter for irradiating the sample with pulsed electro-magnetic radiation having a plurality of frequencies in the range from 50 GHz to 84 THz;
b) means for subdividing an area of the sample into a two dimensional array of pixels;
c) means for detecting radiation from each pixel over a plurality of frequencies; and
d) means for generating an image of the area of the sample from the detected radiation by calculating the difference between the magnitude of a maximum and a minimum of the detected radiation detected for each pixel.
25. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the sample to be imaged is a human or animal breast.
26. The method of claim 22 , comprising means for holding the breast to be imaged.
27. The method of claim 22 , wherein the apparatus further comprises means for detecting the time of flight of a pulse of radiation through the sample.
28. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the apparatus comprises means for collecting both transmitted and reflected radiation.
29. An apparatus for detecting cancer in a sample, the apparatus comprising:
a) an emitter for irradiating the sample with pulsed electro-magnetic radiation with a plurality of frequencies in the range from 50 GHz to 84 THz;
b) means for subdividing an area of the sample into a two dimensional array of pixels, and detecting radiation from each pixel over a plurality of frequencies;
c) means generating an image of the area of the sample from the radiation detecting in step (b).