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US 8,078,265 B2Granted
Systems and methods for generating fluorescent light images
AssigneeThe General Hospital Corporation
InventorsUmar Mahmood, Ralph Weissleder, Rahul A. Sheth, Rabi Upadhyay
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Abstract
An imaging system divides image pixels intensities by exposure time to generate image data in units of intensity per time. The imaging system divides a fluorescent light image in intensity per time units by an excitation light image in intensity per time units to provide a quantitative corrected fluorescent light image that is generally invariant to position of an imaging instrument relative to a biological tissue being imaged.
Claims29
An imaging system, comprising:
- an excitation light source configured to direct excitation light at a tissue and configured to excite fluorescent light from the tissue;
- a first light detector configured to generate a first plurality of images associated with the tissue, wherein each image within the first plurality of images has a respective exposure time;
- a second light detector configured to generate a second plurality of images associated with the tissue, wherein each image within the second plurality of images has a respective exposure time;
- a first image capture processor configured to capture the first plurality of images from the first light detector, wherein the first image capture processor includes a first exposure processor configured to dynamically adjust the respective exposure times associated with each image within the first plurality of images by adjusting the first light detector;
- a second image capture processor configured to capture the second plurality of images from the second light detector, wherein the second image capture processor includes a second exposure processor configured to dynamically adjust the respective exposure times associated with each image within the second plurality of images by adjusting the second light detector, wherein the exposure times associated with images within the first plurality of images are adjusted independently from the exposure times associated with the images within the second plurality of images;
- and
- a memory coupled to the first and second image capture processors and configured to receive and store the first and second pluralities of images and configured to receive and store the respective exposure times,
- wherein the first light detector is configured to generate a first image among the first plurality of images having a first plurality of pixel intensity values associated with a first exposure time, wherein the memory is coupled to receive and store the first plurality of pixel intensity values and to receive and store the first exposure time,
- wherein the second light detector is configured to generate a second image among the second plurality of images having a second plurality of pixel intensity values associated with a second exposure time wherein the memory is coupled to receive and store the second plurality of pixel intensity values and to receive and store the second exposure time, wherein the imaging system further comprises:
- an image correction processor coupled to the memory and configured to combine ones of the first pixel intensity values with the first exposure time to provide first intensity-per-second values, configured to combine ones of the second pixel intensity values with the second exposure time to provide second intensity-per-second values, and configured to combine the second intensity-per-second values with the first intensity-per-second values to provide a corrected image of the tissue having corrected pixel intensity values.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.