Invasive chemometry

• US 20080227142A1
• Filed: 02/11/2008
• Published: 09/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chemimage Corporation
• Original Assignee: Chemimage Corporation
• Inventors: Maier, John S.
• Granted Patent: US 8,532,726 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/34
• 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 5/1459 invasive, e.g. introduced into the body by a catheter A61B5/1464 takes precedence
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4519 Muscles A61B5/389, A61B5/224 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G16B 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Abstract

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

Claims

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

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the component is assessed in the tissue in vivo.

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

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second optical characteristic is a Raman shift of light scattered from the identified region that is attributable to the component.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first optical characteristics of the irradiated regions are assessed using multiple optical conduits that optically couple the irradiated regions with a detector.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the conduits are optical fibers.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the optical fibers are arranged in a cohcrent bundle.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein, for each irradiated region, the first and second optical characteristics are assessed using the same optical conduit.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein, for each irradiated region, the first and second optical characteristics are assessed using multiple optical conduits.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the optical conduits extend along a probe inserted into the body of the animal.

11. The method of claim 5, wherein the optical conduits extend along a probe applied against a body surface of the animal.

12. The method of claim 5, wherein the optical conduits are rigidly fixed relative to one another.

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

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the component is an abnormal cell of the tissue.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the tissue comprises cells of multiple types.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein radiation from at least one identified region is transmitted through a filter prior to assessing the second optical characteristic of the identified region.

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

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