Method of determining surgical margins using fluorescence biopsy specimen imager
AssigneeLI-COR, Inc.
InventorHan-Wei Wang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods for determining surgical margins using an imaging device are described that use multiple cameras to image a biological sample on a turntable bathed in white light or fluorescing due to a systemically administered dye. Fluorescence farther away from an excitation light source can be compensated upon determining a 3-D position of portions of the sample. The turntable is turned and tilted in order to take enough images to prepare an animation of the sample. In a graphical user interface, the animation can be stopped, zoomed, and tilted per a user's gesture, touch, tablet-tilting, or other commands. The image manipulation can be with touch gestures entered using a sterilizable or disposable touch pen.
Claims20
A method for assessing tumor margins during surgery, the method comprising:
- a) systemically administering a fluorescence dye in a subject, the dye conjugated to antibodies for tumor targeted imaging;
- b) providing a resected tissue sample having the fluorescence dye;
- c) illuminating the tissue sample at an excitation frequency of the fluorescence dye;
- d) capturing fluorescence images of the sample using at least one camera;
- e) generating a set of overlaid images or a 3-dimensional (3D) model including a fluorescence color map from the captured fluorescence images;
- f) applying a correction factor to improve a quantifiability of the fluorescence images;
- g) visualizing a fluorescence signal from the overlaid images or the 3D model of the sample, including signal contrast, based on intensity scalers from the fluorescence color map;
- and
- h) determining tumor margins on the tissue sample from the fluorescence signal.
An apparatus for assessing tumor margins during surgery comprising:
- a computer processor operatively connected with a machine-readable non-transitory medium embodying information indicative of instructions for causing the computer processor to perform operations comprising:
- taking reflected light images of a resected tissue sample on a stage using a first camera;
- collecting fluorescence images of the tissue sample using a second camera, the tissue sample having fluorescence dye conjugated to antibodies for tumor targeted imaging, the tissue sample being illuminated at an excitation frequency of the fluorescence dye;
- generating a set of overlaid images or a 3-dimensional (3D) model including a fluorescence color map from the collected fluorescence images;
- applying a correction factor to improve a quantifiability of the fluorescence images;
- and
- displaying a fluorescence signal from the overlaid images or the 3D model of the sample, including signal contrast, based on intensity scalers from the fluorescence color map.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.