Method and apparatus for method for viewing and analyzing of one or more biological samples with progressively increasing resolutions

Abstract

Method, apparatus and arrangement according an exemplary embodiment of the present invention can be provided for analyzing and / or illustrating at least one portion of an anatomical structure. For example, light can be forwarded to such portion so as to generate first information which is related to the portion. For example, the light can be provided on or within a subject. The first information can be received, and at least one section of the portion may be selected based on the first information so as to generate second information. A magnification of a display of the portion may be progressively modified as a function of the second information.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) [0001] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 721,802, filed Sep. 29, 2005, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to relates to methods and arrangement for viewing and analyzing of one or more biological samples and anatomic structures with progressively increasing resolutions. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Radiological techniques such as X-ray computed tomography (“CT”), magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”), and ultrasound can enable noninvasive visualization of human pathology at the organ level. Although these modalities may be capable of identifying large-scale pathology, the diagnosis of cancer can require the evaluation of microscopic structures that is beyond the resolution of conventional imaging techniques. Consequently, biopsy and histopathologic examination may be required ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides methods and arrangements for viewing and analyzing biological samples and anatomical structures with progressively increasing resolutions. The methods and arrangements can be used along with a visual inspection of the data or by automatic processing procedures of the data to guide the visualization of areas that are most likely to contain abnormal and / or unhealthy tissue. The invention can provide a display of the portion of an anatomical structure and modify the display based on the first information, second information, and / or third information. The first information can be associated with a confocal microscopy procedure, spectrally-encoded confocal microscopy procedure, optical coherence tomography procedure, or optical frequency domain interferometry procedure. The invention can be used in various anatomical structures, such as brain, heart, and skin.

Problems solved by technology

Because precancerous growth and early stage cancers often arise on a microscopic scale, they can present significant challenges for identification and diagnosis.

Although this approach may be regarded as a current standard for microscopic diagnosis, it requires the removal of tissue from the patient and significant processing time to generate slides.

However, the lack of an appropriate imaging technology can greatly limits options for screening for pre-neoplastic conditions (e.g. metaplasia) and dysplasia.

In addition, an inability to identify areas of dysplasia and carcinoma in situ has led to screening procedures such as, e.g., random biopsy of the prostate, colon, esophagus, and bladder, etc., which can be highly undesirable and indiscriminate.

Resolutions approaching 20 μm have been achieved by these technologies, but fundamental physical limitations can still prevent their application in patients.

High NA imaging, however, can be particularly sensitive to aberrations that arise as light propagates through inhomogeneous tissue.

Also, high-resolution imaging with RCM is typically limited to a depth of about 100-400 μm.

Development of endoscopic confocal microscopy systems has been more difficult, owing at least in part to the substantial technical challenges involved in miniaturizing a scanning microscope.

One major obstacle to direct application of the concepts of confocal microscopy to endoscopy is the engineering of a mechanism for rapidly rastering a focused beam at the distal end of a small-diameter, flexible probe.

As currently implemented, point sampling can be inherent to RCM because it has a limited field of view, which may be comparable to or less than that of an excisional biopsy, and the imaging rate can be too slow for comprehensive large field microscopy.

Another challenge in adapting confocal microscopy to endoscopic applications can include miniaturization of high NA objectives that may be used for optical sectioning.

Indeed, the amount of this data can be large and difficult to view at one time such data, and thus such methods and arrangements would be beneficial for viewing and analysis thereof.

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