NON-INVASIVE METHOD FOR SPECIFIC 3D DETECTION, VISUALIZATION AND / OR QUANTIFICATION OF A ENDOGENEOUS FLUOROPHORE SUCH AS MELANIN WITHIN A BIOLOGICAL TISSUE

摘要

A method for detecting, quantifying and / or displaying an endogenous fluorophore within a biological tissue, the method comprising the steps of: a) acquiring after multiphoton excitation a set of successive three-dimensional or two-dimensional images providing information on the time decay of the fluorescence signals in the sample, b) determining by processing these images, by performing a linear regression of the logarithm of the fluorescence signals the spatial distribution in the sample of the slopes of said linear regression, and c) generating information on the presence and / or density or surface density of a fluorophore within the sample at least from this spatial distribution, the fluorophore being melanin.