System and method for a chemical imaging threat assessor with a probe
First Claim
1. A portable system for obtaining a spectrum of a sample, comprising:
- an instrument module comprising a photon source, a spectrometer, and a photon detector;
a handheld probe operably connected to said instrument module and independently movable with respect to said instrument module, said probe comprising a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera contained substantially within a housing, wherein said housing includes a positioning guide for spacing apart said handheld probe from said sample;
said photon source for providing a first plurality of photons to interact with said sample to thereby form a second plurality of photons;
an optical lens contained substantially within said housing for collecting said second plurality of photons;
a filter for blocking a portion of said first plurality of photons present in an optical path with said second plurality of photons;
a fiber optic array for directing said second plurality of photons passing through said filter to said spectrometer, wherein said fiber optic array is a fiber array spectral translator and optical fibers comprising said fiber optic array are arranged in a two-dimensional array at a first end and a one-dimensional array at a second end of the fiber optic array; and
said photon detector receiving said second plurality of photons having passed through said spectrometer to thereby obtain a spectrum of said sample,wherein said sample includes at least one biothreat agent selected from the group consisting of bacterial spores, live cells, viruses and toxins, and at least one material or chemical present in the normal ambient environment from which said sample is obtained.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The disclosure relates to a portable and/or handheld bioagent detector and methodology described herein that is based in part on advanced Raman Chemical Imaging (“RCI”) technology. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the detection system may include a fiber array spectral translator (“FAST”) and may also include a probe which may include a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera. The probe alleviates the need to place the main instrument close to an unconfined release of a potentially hazardous material and facilitates analysis of a sample that is situated in a hard-to-reach location while minimizing contamination of the detector and operator.
14 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A portable system for obtaining a spectrum of a sample, comprising:
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an instrument module comprising a photon source, a spectrometer, and a photon detector; a handheld probe operably connected to said instrument module and independently movable with respect to said instrument module, said probe comprising a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera contained substantially within a housing, wherein said housing includes a positioning guide for spacing apart said handheld probe from said sample; said photon source for providing a first plurality of photons to interact with said sample to thereby form a second plurality of photons; an optical lens contained substantially within said housing for collecting said second plurality of photons; a filter for blocking a portion of said first plurality of photons present in an optical path with said second plurality of photons; a fiber optic array for directing said second plurality of photons passing through said filter to said spectrometer, wherein said fiber optic array is a fiber array spectral translator and optical fibers comprising said fiber optic array are arranged in a two-dimensional array at a first end and a one-dimensional array at a second end of the fiber optic array; and said photon detector receiving said second plurality of photons having passed through said spectrometer to thereby obtain a spectrum of said sample, wherein said sample includes at least one biothreat agent selected from the group consisting of bacterial spores, live cells, viruses and toxins, and at least one material or chemical present in the normal ambient environment from which said sample is obtained. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A handheld portable system for obtaining a spectrum of a sample, comprising:
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an instrument module comprising a photon source, a spectrometer, and a photon detector; a probe operably connected to said instrument module and independently movable with respect to said instrument module, said probe comprising a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera contained substantially within a housing, wherein said housing includes a positioning guide for spacing apart said probe from said sample; said photon source for providing a first plurality of photons to interact with said sample to thereby form a second plurality of photons; an optical lens for collecting said second plurality of photons; a filter for blocking a portion of said first plurality of photons present in an optical path with said second plurality of photons; a fiber optic array for directing said second photons passing through said filter to said spectrometer, wherein optical fibers comprising the fiber optic array are arranged in a two-dimensional array at a first end and a one-dimensional array at a second end of the fiber optic array, and wherein said first end accepts said second plurality of photons passing through said filter and said second end directs said second plurality of photons to said spectrometer; said photon detector receiving said second plurality of photons having passed through said spectrometer to thereby obtain a spectrum of said sample; a memory device for storing a spectrum of a biothreat agent; a microprocessor for comparing an output signal from said photon detector with the stored spectrum in said memory device; and a display unit for displaying information based on said comparison, wherein said sample includes at least one biothreat agent selected from the group consisting of bacterial spores, live cells, viruses and toxins, and at least one material or chemical present in the normal ambient environment from which said sample is obtained.
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19. A method for obtaining a spectrum of a sample, comprising:
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(a) providing a portable instrument module comprising a photon source, a spectrometer, and a photon detector; (b) placing a handheld probe near the sample wherein said probe is operably connected to said instrument module and independently movable with respect to said instrument module, said probe comprising a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera contained substantially within a housing, wherein said housing includes a positioning guide for spacing apart said handheld probe from said sample; (c) illuminating said sample with a first plurality of photons to interact with said sample to thereby form a second plurality of photons, said fast plurality of photons passing through said probe; (d) collecting said second plurality of photons; (e) blocking a portion of said fast plurality of photons present in an optical path with said second plurality of photons; and (f) directing said second plurality of photons to said spectrometer and then to said photon detector to thereby obtain a spectrum of said sample, wherein said sample includes at least one biothreat agent selected from the group consisting of bacterial spores, live cells, viruses and toxins, and at least one material or chemical present in the normal ambient environment from which said sample is obtained. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification