Systems and methods for hyperspectral imaging

Abstract

An apparatus for analyzing a subject including a hyperspectral image module is provided. It is used to identify a suspect region of a subject by using a hyperspectral sensor (for obtaining a hyperspectral image of the subject), a control computer including a processor unit (PU) and a computer readable memory (CRM) (for controlling and is in electronic communication with the sensor), a control software module including instructions stored in the CRM and executed by the PU (for controlling said at least one operating parameter of the sensor), a spectral calibrator module including instructions stored in the CRM and executed by the PU (for applying a wavelength dependent spectral calibration standard constructed for the sensor to a hyperspectral image), and a light source for illuminating the subject. An optional contact probe module is used to collect a signal of the suspect region for medical diagnosis.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for analyzing the skin of a subject, the apparatus comprising:
 a hyperspectral sensor for obtaining a hyperspectral image of said subject;   a control computer for controlling the hyperspectral sensor, wherein the control computer is in electronic communication with the hyperspectral sensor and wherein the control computer controls at least one operating parameter of the hyperspectral sensor, and wherein the control computer comprises a processor unit and a computer readable memory;   a control software module, stored in the computer readable memory and executed by the processor unit, the control software comprising instructions for controlling said at least one operating parameter of the hyperspectral sensor;   a spectral calibrator module, stored in the computer readable memory and executed by the processor unit, the spectral calibrator module comprising instructions for applying a wavelength dependent spectral calibration standard constructed for the hyperspectral sensor to a hyperspectral image collected by the hyperspectral sensor; and   a light source that illuminates the skin of the subject for the hyperspectral sensor.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the light source comprises a polarizer. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the hyperspectral sensor comprises a cross polarizer. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the hyperspectral sensor comprises a sensor head, and wherein the control software module comprises instructions for moving the sensor head through a range of distances relative to the subject, including a first distance that permits a wide field view of a portion of the subject's skin, and a second distance that permits a detailed view of a portion of the subject's skin. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , the apparatus further comprising:
 a plurality of signatures, each signature in the plurality of signatures corresponding to a characterized human lesion; and   a spectral analyzer module stored in the computer readable memory, the spectral analyzer module comprising instructions for comparing a spectrum acquired using the hyperspectral sensor to a signature in the plurality of signatures.   
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , the apparatus further comprising:
 a storage module, stored in the computer readable media, wherein the storage module comprises a plurality of spectra of the subject's skin taken at different time points; and   a spectral analyzer module, stored in the computer readable media, wherein the spectral analyzer module comprises instructions for using the plurality of spectra to form a normalization baseline of the skin.   
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the different time points span one or more contiguous years. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the spectral analyzer module further comprises instructions for analyzing the plurality of spectra to determine a time when a biological insult originated. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the biological insult is a lesion. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , the apparatus further comprising a sensor other than a hyperspectral sensor. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the other sensor is a digital camera, a LIDAR sensor, or a terahertz sensor. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a contact probe module in electronic communication with the control computer, wherein the contact probe module is configured to measure a region of interest of the skin of said subject that is identified based on an aspect of the hyperspectral image, and wherein said contact probe module comprises a first probe head unit connected to a handle unit.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein said contact probe module further comprises a connector unit connected to the handle unit. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein said first probe head unit is configured to obtain a signal from a region of interest of the skin of the subject, wherein said signal is an electrical, a magnetic, a thermal, a mechanical, a radiometric, a photometric, or an optical signal. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein said first probe head unit is an electrical probe, a magnetic probe, a thermal probe, a mechanical probe, a radiometric probe, a photometric probe or an optical probe. 
     
     
         16 . A method of diagnosing a medical condition in a subject, the subject having a plurality of regions, the method comprising:
 (a) resolving light obtained from each region of the plurality of regions into a corresponding spectrum thereby obtaining a plurality of spectrums, each spectrum in the plurality of spectrums corresponding to a region in the plurality of regions;   (b) obtaining, using a computer, based on a stored spectral signature corresponding to the medical condition, a probability that a first spectrum in the plurality of spectrums includes indicia of the medical condition being present in the region that corresponding to the first spectrum; and   (c) displaying to a user or outputting to a tangible computer readable media an indicator representing the probable presence of the medical condition in the corresponding region when the probability exceeds a pre-defined threshold.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 (a0) obtaining, prior to said resolving step (a), the light from each region in the plurality of regions without regard to a visible characteristic of the plurality of regions.   
     
     
         18 . A method of diagnosing a medical condition of a subject using a contact probe module, the subject having a plurality of regions of skin of interest, the method comprising:
 (A) resolving light obtained from each region of skin in a plurality of regions of skin of the subject into a corresponding spectrum using a hyperspectral module, thereby constructing a plurality of spectra;   (B) identifying, using a compute, a suspect region of skin in said plurality of regions of skin by obtaining a first indication that a first spectrum in said plurality of spectra that corresponds to the suspect region includes an indicia of said medical condition being present in the suspect region;   (C) collecting, after said identifying (B), a measurement of said suspect region using said contact probe module thereby obtaining a second indication that said medical condition is present in the suspect region, wherein said contact probe module is configured to obtain a signal from said suspect region; and   (D) outputting an indicator representing the presence of the medical condition in the suspect region to a user, a user interface device, or a monitor; or outputting an indicator representing the presence of the medical condition in the suspect region in user readable form to a computer readable storage medium or a local or remote computer system; or displaying an indicator representing the presence of the medical condition in the suspect region.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 (A0) obtaining, prior to the resolving step (A), light from each region of skin in a plurality of regions of skin of interest.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein said signal is an electrical signal, a magnetic signal, a thermal signal, a mechanical signal, or an optical signal.