Non-invasive biochemical analysis

• US 20060276697A1
• Filed: 06/07/2005
• Published: 12/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chemimage Corporation
• Original Assignee: Chemimage Corporation
• Inventors: Treado, Patrick J., Cohen, Jeffrey K., Demuth, Joseph E., Maier, John S.
• Granted Patent: US 7,330,746 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/322
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14546 for measuring analytes not otherwise provided for, e.g. ions, cytochromes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1455 using optical sensors, e.g. spectral photometrical oximeters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/415 the glands, e.g. tonsils, adenoids or thymus
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/418 lymph vessels, ducts or nodes

Abstract

The invention relates to methods and devices for assessing one or more blood components in an animal. The present invention permits non-invasive assessment of blood components in a body structure containing blood and other tissue types by assessing multiple regions of a tissue surface for an optical characteristic of blood and separately assessing one or more optical (e.g., Raman or NIR) characteristics of the blood component for one or more regions that exhibit the optical characteristic of blood.

Claims

1. A method of assessing a component of the blood of an animal, the method comprising assessing multiple irradiated regions on a vascularized surface of an animal to identify at least one region that exhibits a first optical characteristic of blood and assessing a second optical characteristic of the component for at least one identified region.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second optical characteristic of the component is assessed for at least two identified regions.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising irradiating the multiple regions.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein Raman-shifted radiation scattered from multiple identified regions is assessed substantially simultaneously.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the surface is the apical surface of a non-dermal epithelium.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the surface is the apical surface of a non-keratinized epithelium

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the epithelium is selected from the group consisting of the floor of the mouth, the soft palate, the lingual surface of the tongue, inner cheek surfaces, esophagus lining, stomach wall lining, intestinal and colonic linings, olfactory epithelium, pharyngeal epithelium, bronchial epithelium, alveolar epithelium, urethral epithelium, vaginal epithelium, and vulval epithelium.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the component is selected from the group consisting of glucose, dissolved oxygen, dissolved carbon dioxide, urea, lactic acid, creatine, bicarbonate, an electrolyte, protein, cholesterol, triglycerides, lipids other than triglycerides, and hemoglobin.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the component is glucose.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first optical characteristic is an optical characteristic of hemoglobin.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first optical characteristic is an optical characteristic other than Raman shift of light scattered from the region.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein Raman-shifted radiation scattered by each region that exhibits the optical characteristic is transmitted to the detector using at least one discrete optical fiber for each such region.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein Raman-shifted scattered radiation scattered by each region that exhibits the optical characteristic is transmitted to the detector using multiple discrete optical fibers for each such region.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein the regions are irradiated with substantially monochromatic light.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the light has a wavelength not greater than about 600 nanometers.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the light has a wavelength not greater than about 800 nanometers.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein the regions are irradiated with light from a laser.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein the animal is a human.

4-6. -6. (canceled)

10. (canceled)

16-26. -26. (canceled)

34. A device for assessing a component of the blood of an animal, the device comprising a first detector for detecting an optical characteristic of each of multiple irradiated regions on a vascularized surface of the animal, the multiple regions having a pre-determined geometric relationship, and a controller operably linked to the detector and to a Raman detector for restricting detection of Raman-shifted scattered radiation to one or more regions exhibiting an optical characteristic of blood.

35-59. -59. (canceled)

60. A device for assessing a component of the blood of an animal, the device comprising

a radiation source for irradiating multiple regions on a vascularized surface of the animal, light being conveyed from the radiation source to each of the regions by at least one discrete optical illumination fiber for each region, the multiple regions having a pre-determined geometric relationship;

an optical detector for detecting an optical characteristic of each region and for detecting Raman-shifted radiation scattered by each region, there being optically coupled with the detector and interposed between the detector and the regions an optical filter and at least one discrete optical detection fiber for each region;

a computer processor operably linked to the detector for restricting detection of Raman-shifted scattered radiation to regions exhibiting an optical characteristic of blood and for correlating Raman-shifted radiation scattered by the regions exhibiting the optical characteristic.

61-63. -63. (canceled)