Systems, processes and software arrangements for evaluating information associated with an anatomical structure by an optical coherence ranging technique

• US 9,326,682 B2
• Filed: 01/07/2013
• Issued: 05/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The General Hospital Corporation (Mass General Brigham, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The General Hospital Corporation (Mass General Brigham, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tearney, Guillermo J., Bouma, Brett Eugene, Evans, John A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bali, Vikkram
• Application Number:
  US13/735,580
• Publication Number:
  US 20130188850A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,212 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/02 Instruments for taking cell samples or for biopsy A61B10/0038 and A61B10/0045 take precedence; needle locating or guiding means A61B17/3403; samplers for enzymology or microbiology C12M1/26; sampling or preparing biological specimens G01N33/48
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2010/0003 including means for analysis by an unskilled person
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00827 Treatment of gastro-esophageal reflux
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0033 Features or image-related aspects of imaging apparatus classified in A61B5/00, e.g. for MRI, optical tomography or impedance tomography apparatus; arrangements of imaging apparatus in a room image data processing or generation G06T
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0066 Optical coherence imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/003 Reconstruction from projections, e.g. tomography
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10101 Optical tomography; Optical coherence tomography [OCT]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20081 Training; Learning
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30004 Biomedical image processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30096 Tumor; Lesion
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0014 using an image reference approach
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/60 relating to pathologies

Abstract

Software systems, arrangements and processes for evaluating an image associated with at least one portion of an anatomical structure are provided. For example, first information associated with the at least one portion of the anatomical structure second information associated with the at least one portion of the anatomical structure can be received. Third information can be generated by determining a relationship between the first information and the second information. Further, the image can be evaluated using a predetermined pathological scoring criteria and the third information.

Claims

1. A process for evaluating at least one image associated with at least one portion of an anatomical structure, comprising:

receiving first information associated with the at least one portion of the anatomical structure;

receiving second information associated with the at least one portion of the anatomical structure;

with a computer processing device, generating third information by determining a relationship between the first information and the second information; and

with the computer processing device, evaluating the at least one image using a predetermined pathological scoring criteria and the third information, wherein the predetermined pathological scoring criteria includes at least one of (i) a surface maturation score measured by patterns of reflectance of nuclear density or (ii) a glandular irregularity score.

2. The process according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first information or the second information is associated with a light remitted from the at least one portion.

3. The process according to claim 2, wherein the light is reflected from the at least one portion.

4. The process according to claim 2, wherein the light is fluorescence.

5. The process according to claim 1, wherein the at least one portion is provided in a living subject.

6. The process according to claim 1, wherein the at least one portion of the anatomical structure is situated on a microscope slide.

7. The process according to claim 6, wherein the slide is stained with at least one of Hematoxylin and Eosin, Masson'"'"'s Trichrome, Papanicolaou'"'"'s stain, Diff-Qwik, or Periodic Acid Shiff.

8. The process according to claim 1, wherein the first information and the second information are provided for approximately the same location of the at least one portion of the anatomical structure.

9. The process according to claim 1, wherein the third information is obtained based on physical and chemical structures associated with the first information and the second information.

10. The process according to claim 1, wherein the image is associated with a light remitted from the at least one portion.

11. The process according to claim 10, wherein the light is reflected from the at least one portion.

12. The process according to claim 10, wherein the light is fluorescence.

13. The process according to claim 10, wherein the at least one portion is provided in a living subject.

14. The process according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first information or the second information is obtained by an optical coherence tomography system.

15. The process according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first information or the second information is obtained by a spectrally encoded confocal microscopy system.

16. The process according to claim 1, wherein the anatomical structure resides below the skin.

17. The process according to claim 16, wherein at least one of the first information or the second information is obtained by a confocal microscopy system.

18. The process according to claim 16, wherein at least one of the first information or the second information is obtained by a reflectance confocal microscopy system.

19. The process according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first information or the second information is obtained by an optical frequency domain imaging system.

20. The process according to claim 6, wherein the slide is stained with an antibody.

21. An arrangement for evaluating at least one image associated with at least one portion of an anatomical structure, comprising:

a computer processing device which is configured to;

a) receive first information associated with the at least one portion of the anatomical structure, and second information associated with the at least one portion of the anatomical structure;

b) generate third information by determining a relationship between the first information and the second information; and

c) evaluate the at least one image using a predetermined pathological scoring criteria and the third information wherein the predetermined pathological scoring criteria includes at least one of (i) a surface maturation score measured by patterns of reflectance of nuclear density or (ii) or a glandular irregularity score.

22. A software system for evaluating at least one image associated with at least one portion of an anatomical structure which is provided on a hardware storage arrangement, executed by a computer processing device, the software system comprising:

a first set of instructions being stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium and which, when execute by the computer processing device, configures the computer processing device to receive first information associated with the at least one portion of the anatomical structure, and second information associated with the at least one portion of the anatomical structure;

a second set of instructions being stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium and which, when execute by the computer processing device, configures the computer processing device to generate third information by determining a relationship between the first information and the second information; and

a third set of instructions being stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium and which, when execute by the computer processing device, configures the computer processing device to evaluate the at least one image using a predetermined pathological scoring criteria and the third information wherein the predetermined pathological scoring criteria includes at least one of (i) a surface maturation score measured by patterns of reflectance of nuclear density, or (ii) a glandular irregularity score.