SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR HYPERSPECTRAL MEDICAL IMAGING
First Claim
1. An apparatus for analyzing the skin of a subject, the apparatus comprising:
- (A) a hyperspectral sensor that is configured to take a hyperspectral image of the skin of said subject;
(B) a control computer for controlling the hyperspectral sensor, wherein the control computer is in electronic communication with the hyperspectral sensor and wherein the control computer controls at least one operating parameter of the hyperspectral sensor, and wherein the control computer comprises a processor unit and a computer readable memory comprising;
(i) executable instructions for controlling said at least one operating parameter of the hyperspectral sensor; and
(ii) executable instructions for applying a wave-length dependent spectral calibration standard constructed for the hyperspectral sensor to a hyperspectral image collected by the hyperspectral sensor; and
(C) a light source that illuminates the skin of the subject for the hyperspectral sensor.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Under one aspect, an apparatus for analyzing the skin of a subject includes a hyperspectral sensor for obtaining a hyperspectral image of the subject. The apparatus further includes a control computer that is in electronic communication with the hyperspectral sensor and which controls at least one operating parameter of the hyperspectral sensor. The control computer includes a processor unit and a computer readable memory. The memory includes executable instructions for controlling the at least one operating parameter of the hyperspectral sensor. The memory includes executable instructions for applying a wavelength dependent spectral calibration standard constructed for the hyperspectral sensor to a hyperspectral image collected by the hyperspectral sensor. The apparatus further includes a light source that illuminates the skin of the subject for the hyperspectral sensor.
280 Citations
38 Claims
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1. An apparatus for analyzing the skin of a subject, the apparatus comprising:
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(A) a hyperspectral sensor that is configured to take a hyperspectral image of the skin of said subject; (B) a control computer for controlling the hyperspectral sensor, wherein the control computer is in electronic communication with the hyperspectral sensor and wherein the control computer controls at least one operating parameter of the hyperspectral sensor, and wherein the control computer comprises a processor unit and a computer readable memory comprising; (i) executable instructions for controlling said at least one operating parameter of the hyperspectral sensor; and (ii) executable instructions for applying a wave-length dependent spectral calibration standard constructed for the hyperspectral sensor to a hyperspectral image collected by the hyperspectral sensor; and (C) a light source that illuminates the skin of the subject for the hyperspectral sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method of diagnosing a medical condition in a subject, the subject having a plurality of regions, the method comprising:
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obtaining light from each region of the plurality of regions without regard to a visible characteristic of the plurality of regions; resolving the light obtained from each region of the plurality of regions into a corresponding spectrum; determining, based on a stored spectral signature corresponding to the medical condition, a numeric probability that each spectrum includes indicia of the medical condition being present in the corresponding region; and displaying an indicator representing the numeric probability of a presence of the medical condition in the corresponding region when the numeric probability exceeds a pre-defined threshold, wherein the resolving or the determining are performed using one or more suitably programmed computers.
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35. A method of diagnosing a medical condition in subject, the subject having a plurality of regions, the method comprising:
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resolving light obtained from each region of the plurality of regions into a corresponding spectrum; obtaining, based on a stored spectral signature corresponding to the medical condition, a numeric probability that each spectrum includes indicia of the medical condition being present in the corresponding region; displaying an indicator representing the probable presence of the medical condition in the corresponding region when the numeric probability exceeds a first pre-defined threshold, accepting user input setting a second pre-defined threshold; and displaying an indicator representing the probable presence of the medical condition in the corresponding region when the probability exceeds the second pre-defined threshold, wherein the obtaining is performed using a suitably programmed computer.
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36. A method of diagnosing a medical condition in subject, the subject having a plurality of regions, the method comprising:
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resolving light obtained from each region of the plurality of regions into a corresponding spectrum; obtaining, based on a stored spectral signature corresponding to the medical condition, a numeric probability that each spectrum includes indicia of the medical condition being present in the corresponding region; and displaying, when the numeric probability exceeds a first pre-defined threshold, an indicator representing the probable presence of the medical condition in the corresponding region, and displaying at least one of a type of the medical condition, a category of the medical condition, an age of the medical condition, a boundary of the medical condition, and a new area of interest for examination, wherein the obtaining is performed using a suitably programmed computer.
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37. A method of diagnosing a medical condition in subject, the method comprising:
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(A) obtaining, at a first distance from the subject, light from each region of a first plurality of regions of the subject; (B) resolving the light obtained from each region of the first plurality of regions into a corresponding spectrum; (C) determining, based on a spectral characteristic present in a subset of the first plurality of regions, a second distance from the subject allowing for closer examination of the subset; (D) obtaining, at a second distance from the subject, light from each region of a second plurality of regions of the subject, the second plurality of regions including the subset; (E) resolving the light obtained from each region of the second plurality of regions into a corresponding spectrum; (F) obtaining, based on a stored spectral signature corresponding to the medical condition, a numeric probability that each spectrum includes indicia of the medical condition being present in the corresponding region; and (G) displaying, when the numeric probability exceeds a pre-defined threshold, an indicator representing the probable presence of the medical condition in the corresponding region, wherein the resolving (B), determining (C), or resolving (E) is determined using a suitably programmed computer.
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38. A method of characterizing a medical condition in a subject, the subject having a plurality of regions, the method comprising:
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at a first time, resolving light obtained from each region of the plurality of regions into a corresponding spectrum; storing the spectra corresponding to the first time; at a second time subsequent to the first time, resolving light obtained from each region of the plurality of regions into a corresponding spectrum; based on a comparison of the spectra corresponding to the second time to the spectra corresponding to the first time, determining that the medical condition had been present at the first time although it had not been apparent at the first time; and displaying an indicator representing the probable presence of the medical condition in the subject.
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Specification