MULTIPLEXED / PATHLENGTH RESOLVED NONINVASIVE ANALYZER APPARATUS AND METHOD OF USE THEREOF

• US 20150045636A1
• Filed: 08/09/2013
• Published: 02/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Zyomed Corp.
• Original Assignee: Zyomed Corp.
• Inventors: Novotny, Vlad, Gulati, Sandeep, George, Thomas, Ruchti, Timothy, Abul-Haj, Alan, Hazen, Kevin H.
• Application Number:
  US13/963,925
• Publication Number:
  US 20150045636A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/316
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1079 using optical or photographic means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1455 using optical sensors, e.g. spectral photometrical oximeters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14552 Details of sensors specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6801 specially adapted to be attached to or worn on the body surface
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/42 Absorption spectrometry; Double beam spectrometry; Flicker spectrometry; Reflection spectrometry beam switching arrangements G01J3/08
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/4742 comprising optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/4747 Concentric bundles
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/474 Details of optical heads therefor, e.g. using optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2201/0826 Fibre array at source, distributing

Abstract

A noninvasive analyzer apparatus and method of use thereof is described using a plurality of time resolved sample illumination zones coupled to at least one two-dimensional detector array monitoring a plurality of detection zones. Control of illumination times and/or patterns along with selected detection zones yields pathlength resolved groups of spectra. Sectioned pixels and/or zones of the detector are optionally filtered for different light throughput as a function of wavelength. The pathlength resolved groups of spectra are subsequently analyzed to determine an analyte property. Optionally, in the mapping and/or collection phase, incident light is controllably varied in time in terms of any of: sample probe position, incident light solid angle, incident light angle, depth of focus, energy, intensity, and/or detection angle. Optionally, one or more physiological property and/or model property related to a physiological property is used in the analyte property determination.

Claims

1. An apparatus for noninvasive spectroscopic analysis of a component of a human subject, comprising:

a near-infrared noninvasive analyzer, comprising;

a near-infrared source;

a photon transport system configured to transport photons from said near-infrared source to an illumination zone proximate a subject interface zone;

at least one two-dimensional near-infrared detector array configured to detect diffusely reflected photons from a detection zone proximate the subject interface zone, said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array within ten centimeters of the illumination zone during use; and

a processor configured to convert signals from said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array into a vibrational spectroscopy reading.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, said source configured to provide photons at least in a range of 1500 to 1800 nanometers, the photons comprising the diffusely reflected photons detected by said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array during use.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array comprising:

at least three columns of detector elements; and

at least three rows of detector elements,

said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array comprising at least indium, gallium, and arsenide.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, said noninvasive analyzer further comprising:

a two-dimensional transmittance filter array, each element of said transmittance filter array optically coupled to at least one detector element of said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein each element of said transmittance filter array optically couples to at least three detector elements of said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising:

said two-dimensional transmittance filter array comprising at least two distinct optical filters differing by at least twenty percent transmittance at at least one wavelength in a range of 1100 to 2500 nm.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, said two-dimensional transmittance filter array further comprising:

at least two filter types, comprising;

a first filter comprising a first cut-on transmittance inflection point at a first wavelength in a range of 1200 to 2500 nanometers;

a second filter comprising a second cut-on transmittance inflection point at a second wavelength, said second wavelength at least one hundred nanometers shorter than said first wavelength,

said first filter positioned closer to the illumination zone than said second filter.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a two-dimensional detector optic array each element of said two-dimensional detector optic array optically coupled to at least one detector element of said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array; and

a two-dimensional transmittance filter array, each element of said transmittance filter array optically coupled to at least one detector element of said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array further comprising:

a first optic configured to collect light from a first area of the detection zone, said first optic configured to focus light onto at least a first detection element of said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array;

a second optic configured to collect light from a second area of the detection zone, the second area at least twenty percent larger than the first area, said second optic configured to focus light onto at least a second detection element of said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, said first optic configured to direct light on a first path comprising a vector component away from a center of the illumination zone, said second optic configured to direct light on a second path comprising a vector component toward a center of the illumination zone.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, said photon transport system further comprising:

a first optic optically coupled to a first line of detection elements of said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array; and

a second optic optically coupled to a second line of detection elements of said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array, said first optic comprising a first transmittance differing from a second transmittance of said second optic by at least twenty percent at at least three wavelengths separated from each other by at least one hundred nanometers in a range of 1100 to 2500 nm.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an array of optics, individual optical elements of said array of optics optically coupled to individual elements of said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an array of dynamically controllable optics, said array of dynamically controllable optics optically linked to said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, said photon transport system further comprising:

a computer controlled optic, said computer controlled optic configured to direct light from said source to physically separated regions of said illumination zone as a function of time during a time period used to determine one concentration of the component.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a first optical filter comprising transmittance of at least sixty percent of light in a range of 1500 to 1700 nm and transmittance of less than twenty percent in a range of 2100 to 2350 nm, said first optical filter optically coupled to a first group of detectors of said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array; and

a second optical filter comprising transmittance of at least sixty percent of light in a range of 2100 to 2300 nm and transmittance of less than twenty percent in a range of 1600 to 1700 nm, said second optical filter optically coupled to a second group of detectors of said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array further comprising:

an array of detector wells, wherein a first element of said array of detector wells comprises a first total surface area, wherein a second element of said array of detector wells comprises a second total surface area, said second total surface area at least fifty percent larger than said first total surface area.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array comprising a set of detector elements symmetrically positioned about a line through a center of the detection zone and a center of said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array comprising a set of detector elements non-symmetrically positioned about a line through a center of the detection zone and a center of said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, said noninvasive analyzer further comprising:

a wireless transmitter, and a controller configured to use said wireless transmitter to communicate with a remote personal communication device.

20. A method for noninvasive spectroscopic analysis of a component of a subject, comprising the steps of:

providing a near-infrared noninvasive analyzer, said analyzer comprising;

a near-infrared source;

a photon transport system; and

a two-dimensional near-infrared detector array;

transporting photons from said near-infrared source to an illumination zone proximate a subject interface zone using said photon transport system;

detecting diffusely reflected photons from a detection zone proximate the subject interface zone using said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array, said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array positioned within ten centimeters of the illumination zone; and

converting signals from said two-dimensional array detector into a vibrational spectroscopy reading using a processor.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising the steps of:

focusing, using a first focusing optic, light collected from a first area of the detection zone onto a first detection element of said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array; and

simultaneously focusing, using a second focusing optic, light collected from a second area of the detection zone onto a second detection element of said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array, the second area at least twenty percent larger than the first area.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising the steps of:

guiding the photons with said photon transport system to a set of mean radial distances from a center of a sample site of the subject;

wherein a first member of said set of mean radial distances, comprises a first distance of less than two and a half millimeters and greater than six hundred micrometers,

wherein a second member of said set of mean radial distances comprises a second distance of less than one millimeter and greater than one-half millimeter, and

wherein a third member of said set of radial distances comprises a third distance of less than one-half millimeter; and

simultaneously detecting the photons traversing through each of said first member, said second member, and said third member of said set of mean radial distances using said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising the steps of:

collecting a plurality of mapping spectra of the subject using a first set of optical configurations;

calculating a metric related to skin tissue physiology of the subject using the mapping spectra;

based on the metric, setting up a second set of optical configurations, the first set of optical configurations configured to deliver light to the subject in a manner different than the second set of optical configurations; and

collecting subject specific noninvasive spectra of the subject using the second set of optical configurations.

24. The method of claim 20, further comprising the steps of:

determining a measure of spectral quality for each of a majority of signals from independent detector elements of said two-dimensional near-infrared detector array; and

calculating a concentration of the component of the subject, using a sub-set of the majority of signals and the associated measure of spectral quality.

25. The method of claim 20, further comprising the steps of:

organizing the signals into a plurality of finite width channels, a majority of said finite width channels correlating with probed tissue pathlength; and

processing the signals using cross-coherence between said finite width channels.