Abstract: The invention provides a system and methods for in-situ identification of one or more regions of tissue at which there is a likelihood of disease. The invention generally relates to methods and devices for acquiring, analyzing, processing, and displaying optical data and diagnostic results from a patient sample. For example, methods of the invention comprise obtaining spectral and visual data from a patient sample, calibrating the data, compensating for sample motion, arbitrating between redundant data sets, identifying potentially non-representative data, analyzing the data, and displaying the diagnostic results. The invention provides the option of real-time data processing and diagnosis.

Abstract: The invention provides methods of focusing an instrument for the acquisition of optical data from a tissue sample. Methods of the invention allow rapid focusing in the context of a diagnostic procedure in which rapid data acquisition is desirable. For example, inventive methods allow a user to focus an optical instrument quickly enough to obtain data within an optimal window of time following application of a chemical agent to the tissue. In one embodiment, a user focuses an optical instrument by aligning laser spots projected onto a tissue sample within rings that are superimposed at predetermined locations within the user's visual field. Preferred methods of the invention further comprise automatic validation to detect whether the spots are sufficiently well-aligned.

Abstract: The invention provides methods of enhancing tissue sample images by filtering luminance values from an input image and transforming the filtered values to produce an enhanced image for use in diagnostic applications. Preferred methods of the invention provide image enhancement by filtering luminance values of an image that correspond to sample regions that are obstructed or are otherwise not of diagnostic interest, and applying a mathematical transformation based on luminance values from regions that are not filtered out. In this way, image correction is substantially based on portions of the image that are of diagnostic relevance.

Abstract: An improved ROI segmentation image processing system substantially masks non-ROI image data from a digital image to produce a ROI segmented image for subsequent digital processing. The ROI segmentation image processing system is a computer-based system having a collimation subsystem configured to detect and mask out collimated regions within the image. Furthermore, a direct exposure (DE) subsystem is configured to detect and remove DE regions from the image. Holes generated in the image are filled-in to provide a resulting image with only ROI.

Abstract: The invention provides methods for processing tissue-derived spectral data for use in a tissue classification algorithm. Methods of the invention comprise application of spectral and/or image masks for automatically separating ambiguous or unclassifiable spectral data from valid spectral data. The invention improves the accuracy of tissue classification, in part, by properly identifying and accounting for spectral data from tissue regions that are affected by an obstruction and/or regions that lie outside a diagnostic zone of interest.

Abstract: The invention provides methods of determining a correction for a misalignment between at least two images in a sequence of images due at least in part to sample movement. The methods are applied, for example, in the processing and analysis of a sequence of images of biological tissue in a diagnostic procedure. The invention also provides methods of validating the correction for a misalignment between at least two images in a sequence of images of a sample. The methods may be applied in deciding whether a correction for misalignment accurately accounts for sample motion.

Abstract: An automated method, storage medium, and system for analyzing bone. Digital image data corresponding to an image of the bone are obtained. Next there is determined, based on the digital images, a measure of bone mineral density (BMD) and at least one of a measure of bone geometry, a Minkowski dimension, and a trabecular orientation. The strength of the bone is estimated based upon the measure of BMD and at least one of the measure of bone geometery, the Minkowski dimension, and the trabecular orientation. To improve bone texture analysis, the present invention also provides a novel automated method, storage medium, and system in which digital image data corresponding to an image of the bone is obtained, and a region of interest (ROI) is selected within the bone. A fractal characteristic of the image data within the ROI using an artificial neural network is extracted. The strength of the bone is estimated based at least in part on the extracted fractal characteristic.

Abstract: An automated method, storage medium, and system for analyzing bone. Digital image data corresponding to an image of the bone are obtained. Next there is determined, based on the digital images, a measure of bone mineral density (BMD) and at least one of a measure of bone geometry, a Minkowski dimension, and a trabecular orientation. The strength of the bone is estimated based upon the measure of BMD and at least one of the measure of bone geometry, the Minkowski dimension, and the trabecular orientation. To improve bone texture analysis, the present invention also provides a novel automated method, storage medium, and system in which digital image data corresponding to an image of the bone is obtained, and a region of interest (ROI) is selected within the bone. A fractal characteristic of the image data within the ROI using an artificial neural network is extracted. The strength of the bone is estimated based at least in part on the extracted fractal characteristic.

Abstract: An automated method, storage medium, and system for analyzing bone. Digital image data corresponding to an image of the bone are obtained. Next there is determined, based on the digital images, a measure of bone mineral density (BMD) and at least one of a measure of bone geometry, a Minkowski dimension, and a trabecular orientation. The strength of the bone is estimated based upon the measure of BMD and at least one of the measure of bone geometery, the Minkowski dimension, and the trabecular orientation. To improve bone texture analysis, the present invention also provides a novel automated method, storage medium, and system in which digital image data corresponding to an image of the bone is obtained, and a region of interest (ROI) is selected within the bone. A fractal characteristic of the image data within the ROI using an artificial neural network is extracted. The strength of the bone is estimated based at least in part on the extracted fractal characteristic.