Method for correlating spectroscopic measurements with digital images of contrast enhanced tissue

• US 20070127022A1
• Filed: 12/29/2006
• Published: 06/07/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chemimage Corporation
• Original Assignee: Chemimage Corporation
• Inventors: Maier, John, Cohen, Jeffrey, Schweitzer, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 7,463,345 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 356/326
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/02 Details
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0235 using means for replacing an element by another, for replacing a filter or a grating
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0264 Electrical interface; User interface
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0289 Field-of-view determination; Aiming or pointing of a spectrometer; Adjusting alignment; Encoding angular position; Size of measurement area; Position tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0291 Housings; Spectrometer accessories; Spatial arrangement of elements, e.g. folded path arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/12 Generating the spectrum; Monochromators
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/28 Investigating the spectrum using colour filters G01J3/51
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/2823 Imaging spectrometer
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/44 Raman spectrometry; Scattering spectrometry ; Fluorescence spectrometry
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/6417 Spectrofluorimetric devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/6423 Spectral mapping, video display
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/656 Raman microprobe
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/6458 Fluorescence microscopy fluorescence microscopes per se G02B21/0076 and G02B21/16
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/6486 Measuring fluorescence of biological material, e.g. DNA, RNA, cells G01N21/6428 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/65 Raman scattering
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/658 enhancement Raman, e.g. surface plasmons

Abstract

A system and method of correlating Raman measurements with digital images of a treated sample and using this correlation to classify the disease state of the sample. A spectroscopic data set is obtained for the sample positioned in the field of view of a spectroscopic device. The positional information about the field of view is stored. With the sample removed from the field of view, the sample is treated with a contrast enhancing agent. Using the stored positional information for the field of view, the treated sample is repositioned in the spectroscopic device'"'"'s field of view. A digital image of the treated sample positioned in the field of view is obtained. The spectroscopic data set is linked with the digital image by defining a transformation to map the image spatial coordinates of the digital image to the spectral spatial coordinates of the spectroscopic data. A database having a plurality of spectroscopic data sets, for samples having well characterized pathology, is provided. Each spectroscopic data set is linked to a corresponding digital image, and each spectroscopic data set is associated with the known sample. Each corresponding digital image is associated with the known sample treated with a contrast enhancing agent. For the spectroscopic data set of the sample, the database is searched to identify a spectroscopic data set, of a known sample, matching the sample'"'"'s spectroscopic data set.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

obtaining a digital image of a sample having a first plurality of pixels;

obtaining a first spectroscopic data set of the sample, the spectroscopic data set corresponding to a second plurality of pixels;

mapping the first plurality of pixels to the second plurality of pixels to associate the digital image of the sample with the first spectroscopic data set;

selecting a first region of interest from the digital image of the sample, the first region of interest defined by a subset of the first plurality of pixels; and

obtaining a second spectroscopic data set for the first region of interest by identifying a subset of the second plurality of pixels corresponding to the subset of the first plurality of pixels.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of mapping the first plurality of pixels to the second plurality of pixels further comprises determining a spatial relationship between the first plurality of pixels and the second plurality of pixels.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of mapping the first plurality of pixels to the second plurality of pixels further comprises mapping each of the first plurality of pixels to a corresponding pixel from the second plurality of pixels.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of mapping the first plurality of pixels to the second plurality of pixels further comprises scaling the first plurality of pixels to spatially correspond to the second plurality of pixels.

5. A system comprising:

an optical device for obtaining a digital image of a sample and a first spectroscopic data set for the sample, the digital image defined by a first plurality of pixels and the first spectroscopic data set defined by a second plurality of pixels; and

a processor programmed with instructions to;

map the first plurality of pixels to the second plurality of pixels to associate the digital image with the first spectroscopic data set;

identify a first region of interest from the digital image of the sample, the first region of interest defined by a subset of the first plurality of pixels; and

obtain a second spectroscopic data set for the first region of interest by identifying a subset of the second plurality of pixels corresponding to the subset of the first plurality of pixels.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising a display for displaying one or more of the following:

the digital image, the first spectroscopic data set, and the second spectroscopic data set.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the optical device comprises a spectrometer.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the optical device comprises means for obtaining a spatially accurate wavelength resolved image of the sample.

9. The system of claim 5, wherein the processor is further programmed with instructions to determine a spatial relationship between the first plurality of pixels and the second plurality of pixels.

10. The system of claim 5, wherein the processor is further programmed with instructions to map each of the first plurality of pixels to a corresponding pixel from the second plurality of pixels.

11. The system of claim 5, wherein the processor is further programmed with instructions to scale the first plurality of pixels to spatially correspond to the second plurality of pixels.