Fluorescent excitation analysis in medicine

The fluorescent excitation analysis (FEA) equipment and techniques developed at the University of California, San Francisco, are reviewed and the recent advances and their impact on extending the applicability are discussed. After a brief survey on the principles of the FEA (limitations due to background, count rate limits, detectors), the in-vitro analysis is treated (system performance, applications, and trends in development). In the next part, in-vivo FEA is discussed with the following applications: absolute iodine quantitation, clearance of heavy metals from the lungs, cardiac output determinations, blood flow measurements. (T.G.)