Method for imaging and spectroscopy of tumors and determination of the efficacy of anti-tumor drug therapies

A method for determining a characteristic of a tumor or lesion, comprising:

• a. obtaining a first infrared image of the tumor or lesion and the surrounding tissue at a first time at ambient temperature,
• b. identifying a first pattern of infrared emission in the first infrared image,
• c. heating or cooling the tumor or lesion and the area of tissue surrounding the tumor or lesion to a desired temperature,
• d. obtaining a second infrared image of the tumor or lesion and the surrounding tissue at the desired temperature,
• e. identifying a second pattern of infrared emission in the second infrared image,
• f. comparing the first and second patterns of infrared emission to determine differences in infrared intensity between the first and second patterns of infrared emission, and
• g. characterizing the tumor or lesion based on the differences in infrared intensity between the first and second patterns of infrared emission.

A method for determining a characteristic of a tumor or lesion, comprising:

• a. heating or cooling the tumor or lesion and an area of tissue surrounding the tumor or lesion to a desired temperature,
• b. removing the heating or cooling source,
• c. obtaining a first infrared image of the tumor or lesion and the surrounding tissue at a first time after removing the heating or cooling source,
• d. identifying a first pattern of infrared emission in the first infrared image,
• e. repeating step c at a second time after removing the heating or cooling source to obtain a second infrared image,
• f. identifying a second pattern of infrared emission in the second infrared image,
• g. comparing the first and second patterns of infrared emission to determine differences in infrared intensity between the first and second patterns of infrared emission, and
• h. characterizing the tumor or lesion based on the differences in infrared intensity between the first and second patterns of infrared emission.

A method for determining the efficacy of treatment of a cancerous mass using dynamic infrared imaging, comprising:

• a. heating or cooling the mass to a desired first temperature at a first stage before or during therapy,
• b. removing the heating or cooling source,
• c. obtaining a first infrared image of the mass at a first time after removing the heating or cooling source,
• d. obtaining a second infrared image of the mass,
• e. comparing the first and second infrared images to identify areas of different infrared emission associated with the mass,
• f. heating or cooling the mass to the desired first temperature at a second stage after further therapy,
• g. repeating steps b-e,
• h. comparing the areas of different infrared emission at the first stage with the areas of different infrared emission at the second stage, and
• i. determining that therapy is effective if the areas with different infrared emission at the second stage are smaller than the areas of different infrared emission at the first stage.

A method for determining the activity of a Kaposi's sarcoma lesion having an observable pigmented area using IR imaging, comprising:

• a. imaging the Kaposi's sarcoma lesion to obtaining an IR image,
• b. examining the IR image to determine if a size and a perimeter of the pigmented area can be identified in the IR image,
• c. determining if the size and perimeter of the pigmented area can be identified,
• d. comparing the size and perimeter of the pigmented area to the size and perimeter of a thermal image of the area in the IR image, and
• e. determining that the area is active if the size and perimeter of the thermal image is significantly larger than the size and perimeter of the pigmented area, respectively.