SYSTEM AND METHOD USING FLUORESCENCE TO EXAMINE WITHIN A PATIENT'S ANATOMY

A system for examining an area of a patient's anatomy that comprises a probe capable of fluorescing, and a scanning beam assembly that scans the probe with a beam of excitation radiation and detects the probe's fluorescence. The scanning beam assembly including a radiation source capable of emitting one or more wavelengths of radiation that are capable of exciting the probe and causing the probe to fluoresce, a scanning device that directs the radiation onto a field-of-view to create a scan of the field-of-view, a detector to detect radiation returned from the field-of-view, and a controller to convert the detected radiation into a displayable fluorescence image.