Method and apparatus for identifying a Raman spectrum from background fluorescence

Inventors

Root, Gary • Fournier, David • Pandey, Rishikesh

Assignees

Cytoveris Inc

Abstract

A method and system for identifying a Raman spectrum component of an observed spectrum is provided. The observed spectrum is produced by interrogating a material such as a tissue sample with light at the one or more predetermined wavelengths, and the observed spectrum includes a background fluorescence component representative of fluorescent emissions resulting from the light interrogation and a Raman spectrum component representative of a Raman scattering resulting from the light interrogation. The method includes a) creating a reconstructed fluorescence spectrum representative of the background fluorescence component of the observed spectrum using one or more empirically determined fluorescent spectral profiles; and b) identifying the Raman spectrum of the observed spectrum using the reconstructed fluorescence spectrum.

Core Innovation

The disclosed approach identifies a Raman spectrum component within an observed spectrum by first addressing the background fluorescence component representative of fluorescent emissions resulting from light interrogation of a tissue sample. It creates a reconstructed fluorescence spectrum representative of the background fluorescence component using one or more empirically determined fluorescent spectral profiles, and then identifies the Raman spectrum component of the observed spectrum using the reconstructed fluorescence spectrum.

The reconstructed fluorescence spectrum is formed from empirically determined fluorescent spectral profiles, which can be associated with fluorophores and combined to achieve a best fit with the background fluorescence component of the observed spectrum. In some embodiments, the fluorescence reconstruction incorporates an absorption spectral profile representative of a material that absorbs at least part of the background fluorescence component from the light interrogation.

The Raman spectrum component identification can be performed by subtracting the reconstructed fluorescence spectrum from the observed spectrum. Related disclosures also cover a system with a light source, a light detector, and an analyzer that performs the reconstruction and Raman identification using stored instructions, and methods that apply the same concept to a material.

Claims Coverage

The document includes four independent claims, each centered on separating Raman spectrum information from a background fluorescence component by reconstructing the fluorescence from empirically determined spectral profiles and using that reconstructed fluorescence to identify a Raman spectrum component. Across the independent claims, the main inventive features involve fluorescence reconstruction from empirical fluorescent spectral profiles and subsequent Raman spectrum component identification using the reconstructed fluorescence spectrum, with system-level control in the system claim and tissue/material interrogation variants in the method claims.

Across the independent claims, the claim coverage is directed to reconstructing the background fluorescence component of an observed spectrum using one or more empirically determined fluorescent spectral profiles, and then identifying the Raman spectrum component using the reconstructed fluorescence spectrum. Tissue and system embodiments include interrogating subject tissue and sensing an observed spectrum with both background fluorescence and Raman components, while a separate independent method applies the same reconstruction-and-identification approach to a material.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications

No documented applications found