Method and apparatus for reflected imaging analysis
First Claim
1. An apparatus for analysis of blood by use of reflected spectral imaging, comprising:
- a light source for illuminating blood, wherein a light path is formed between said light source and the illuminated blood;
a first polarizer for polarizing light from said light source;
image capturing means for capturing a reflected image reflected from the illuminated blood at a depth less than a multiple scattering length, the reflected image traveling along a reflected light path between the illuminated blood and said image capturing means; and
a second polarizer disposed in the reflected light path between the illuminated blood and said image capturing means, wherein a plane of polarization of said second polarizer is 90°
relative to a plane of polarization of said first polarizer.
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Abstract
Reflected imaging is used to perform non-invasive, in vivo analysis of a subject'"'"'s vascular system. A raw reflected image is normalized with respect to the background to form a corrected reflected image. An analysis image is segmented from the corrected reflected image to include a scene of interest for analysis. The method and apparatus can be used to determine such characteristics as the hemoglobin concentration per unit volume of blood, the number of white blood cells per unit volume of blood, a mean cell volume, the number of platelets per unit volume of blood, and the hematocrit. Cross-polarizers can be used to improve visualization of the reflected image.
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Citations
103 Claims
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1. An apparatus for analysis of blood by use of reflected spectral imaging, comprising:
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a light source for illuminating blood, wherein a light path is formed between said light source and the illuminated blood; a first polarizer for polarizing light from said light source; image capturing means for capturing a reflected image reflected from the illuminated blood at a depth less than a multiple scattering length, the reflected image traveling along a reflected light path between the illuminated blood and said image capturing means; and a second polarizer disposed in the reflected light path between the illuminated blood and said image capturing means, wherein a plane of polarization of said second polarizer is 90°
relative to a plane of polarization of said first polarizer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus for analysis of blood by use of reflected spectral imaging, comprising:
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a light source for illuminating blood; a beam splitter for forming a light path between said light source and the illuminated blood and a reflected light path for a reflected image reflected from the illuminated blood at a depth less than a multiple scattering length; a first polarizer for polarizing light from said light source; a camera for capturing the reflected image; and a second polarizer disposed in the reflected light path between the illuminated blood and said camera, wherein a plane of polarization of said second polarizer is 90°
relative to a plane of polarization of said first polarizer. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method for analysis of blood, comprising:
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(1) imaging blood to produce a raw reflected image reflected from a depth less than a multiple scattering length, comprising (a) illuminating the blood with light polarized by a first polarizer and (b) capturing a reflected image reflected from the blood, wherein the reflected image is passed through a second polarizer having a lane of polarization 90°
relative to a plane of polarization of the first polarizer to produce the raw reflected image;(2) applying a correction to the raw reflected image to form a corrected reflected image; (3) segmenting a scene from the corrected reflected image to form an analysis image; and (4) analyzing the analysis image for a characteristic of the blood. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. A method for non-invasive, in vivo analysis of blood in large vessels, comprising:
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(1) illuminating a portion of a subject'"'"'s vascular system with light polarized by a first polarizer; (2) capturing a reflected image reflected from the illuminated portion, wherein the reflected image is passed through a second polarizer having a plane of polarization 90°
relative to a plane of polarization of the first polarizer to produce a raw reflected image;(3) applying a correction to the raw reflected image to form a corrected reflected image; (4) segmenting a scene from the corrected reflected image that includes large vessels to form an analysis image, wherein large vessels are of sufficient size so that a plurality of red blood cells flow side-by-side through them; and (5) analyzing the analysis image for a characteristic of blood in large vessels. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72)
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73. A method for non-invasive, in vivo analysis of blood in small vessels, comprising:
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(1) illuminating a portion of a subject'"'"'s vascular system with light polarized by a first polarizer; (2) capturing a reflected image reflected from the illuminated portion, wherein the reflected image passes through a second polarizer having a plane of polarization 90°
relative to a plane of polarization of the first polarizer to produce a raw reflected image;(3) applying a correction to the raw reflected image to form a corrected reflected image; (4) segmenting a scene from the corrected reflected image that includes small vessels to form an analysis image, wherein small vessels are of a size so that red blood cells flow substantially single file through them; and (5) analyzing the analysis image for a characteristic of blood in small vessels. - View Dependent Claims (74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88)
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89. Apparatus for optically penetrating an object and detecting subsurface optical characteristics of an object, comprising:
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a light source for illuminating an object at a wavelength such that the multiple scattering depth is small compared to the penetration depth of the illuminating light; a first polarizer for polarizing light from said light source; imaging means for detecting an image reflected from beneath the surface of the illuminated object; and a second polarizer disposed in a reflected light path between the object and said imaging means through which the scattered light passes, wherein a plane of polarization of said second polarizer is substantially orthogonal relative to a plane of polarization of said first polarizer. - View Dependent Claims (90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102)
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103. Apparatus for quantitatively measuring absorption properties of an imaged object, comprising:
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a light source for illuminating an object to be imaged; a first polarizer for polarizing light from said light source; imaging means for detecting an image reflected from the illuminated object; a second polarizer disposed in a reflected light path between the object and said imaging means, wherein a plane of polarization of said second polarizer is substantially orthogonal relative to a plane of polarization of said first polarizer; and measuring means coupled to said imaging means for quantitatively measuring differences in absorption properties between imaged structures using said reflected light image.
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Specification