Multispectral/hyperspectral medical instrument

Abstract

A medical instrument that comprises: a first-stage optic responsive to a tissue surface of a patient; a spectral separator optically responsive to the first stage optic and having a control input; an imaging sensor optically responsive to the spectral separator and having an image data output; and a diagnostic processor having an image acquisition interface with an input responsive to the imaging sensor and a filter control interface having a control output provided to the control input of the spectral separator.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A medical instrument, including:
 a first-stage optic responsive to a tissue surface of a patient,   a spectral separator optically responsive to the first stage optic and having a control input,   an imaging sensor optically responsive to the spectral separator and having an image data output, and   a diagnostic processor having an image acquisition interface with an input responsive to the imaging sensor and a filter control interface having a control output provided to the control input of the spectral separator.   
     
     
         2 . The medical instrument of  claim 1 , wherein the spectral separator is a tunable filter. 
     
     
         3 . The medical instrument of  claim 2 , wherein the spectral separator is a liquid crystal tunable filter. 
     
     
         4 . The medical instrument of  claim 1  wherein the imaging sensor is a two-dimensional imaging array. 
     
     
         5 . The medical instrument of  claim 1  wherein the imaging sensor includes a charge coupled device. 
     
     
         6 . The medical instrument of  claim 1  wherein the imaging sensor includes an infra-red sensitive focal plane array. 
     
     
         7 . The medical instrument of  claim 1  wherein the diagnostic processor includes a general-purpose processing module and a plurality of diagnostic protocol modules. 
     
     
         8 . The medical instrument of  claim 1  wherein the first-stage optic is a macro lens. 
     
     
         9 . The medical instrument of  claim 1  wherein the first stage optic is an adjustable lens. 
     
     
         10 . The medical instrument of  claim 9  further including a stand connected relative to the first-stage optic to position the first-stage optic relative to the patient. 
     
     
         11 . The medical instrument of  claim 1  wherein the first stage optic includes a probe that includes an imaging fiber optic cable. 
     
     
         12 . The medical instrument of  claim 1  further including a surgical implement attached to the probe. 
     
     
         13 . The medical instrument of  claim 1  wherein the control interface is operable to adjust the filter at least twenty times to acquire hyperspectral data for redisplay in real time 
     
     
         14 . The medical instrument of  claim 1  wherein the diagnostic processor includes a general-purpose processing module and a plurality of diagnostic protocol modules, wherein each of the diagnostic protocol modules includes a plurality of filter transfer functions and an image processing protocol, wherein the general-purpose processing module is operative to instruct the filter to successively apply the filter transfer functions to light collected from the patient, wherein the general-purpose processing module is operative to acquire from the imaging sensor a plurality of images of the collected light each obtained after one of the filter transfer functions is - applied, and wherein the general-purpose processing module is operative to process the acquired images according to the image processing protocol to obtain a processed display image. 
     
     
         15 . The medical instrument of  claim 14  wherein the general-purpose processor is a real-time processor operative to generate a processed display image within a time period on the order of the persistence of human vision. 
     
     
         16 . The medical instrument of  claim 14  wherein the general-purpose processor is a real-time processor operative to generate a processed display image within about one minute. 
     
     
         17 . The medical instrument of  claim 16  wherein the general processor is operative to acquire some images more slowly depending on the number of wavelengths and complexity of diagnostic protocols. 
     
     
         18 . The medical instrument of  claim 1  wherein the diagnostic processor includes a general-purpose processing module and a diagnostic protocol module, wherein the diagnostic protocol module includes a plurality of filter transfer functions and an image processing protocol adapted to detect more than one condition, wherein the general-purpose processing module is operative to instruct the filter to successively apply the filter transfer functions to light collected from the patient, wherein the general-purpose processing module is operative to acquire from the imaging sensor a plurality of images of the collected light each obtained after one of the filter transfer functions is applied, and wherein the general-purpose processing module is operative to process the acquired images according to the image processing protocol to obtain a processed display image. 
     
     
         19 . The medical instrument of  claim 1  wherein the diagnostic processor includes a real-time processor operative to generate a processed display image within a time period on the order of the persistence of human vision. 
     
     
         20 . The medical instrument of claim I wherein the diagnostic processor is operable to perform diagnostic processing for images acquired from a source that includes visible light. 
     
     
         21 . The medical instrument of claim I wherein the filter and sensor are operable in the visible and far infra-red regions. 
     
     
         22 . The medical instrument of  claim 1  wherein the filter and sensor are operable in the ultra-violet, visible, and infra-red regions.