Claims:1. A Hand-held Biophotonic Medical (HBM) device (101) for multimodal and multispectral imaging of a tissue (102), the HBM device (101) comprising:

an illumination unit (103) comprising a predefined combination of one or more illumination devices (103a) emitting at one or more predefined wavelengths with predefined bandwidths to illuminate the tissue (102) through a polarizer;
a miniature monochrome imaging device (108) configured to:
stream live video of tissue fluorescence upon absorption of incident light by constituents of the tissue (102); and
capture one or more images of the tissue fluorescence upon the absorption of the incident light by the constituents of the tissue (102) and diffusely reflected light due to multiple elastic scattering of the incident light in the tissue (102) in real-time;
an hardware switch (110) configured to generate one or more trigger pulses when triggered;
a collection optics unit (105) comprising:
a lens (105a) to collect the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light from tissue (102) upon illumination, and direct it through a crossed polarizer (105b) to a tailored optical filter (105c) and
the tailored optical filter (105c) configured to transmit light in a predefined wavelength range that matches the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light;
a control unit (109) configured to:
receive the one or more trigger pulses from at least one of the hardware switch (110) or a computing device (113) associated with the HBM device (101);
trigger the one or more illumination devices (103a) sequentially to illuminate the tissue (102) upon receiving the one or more trigger pulses;
control the miniature monochrome imaging device (108) upon receiving the one or more trigger signals to capture the one or more images; and
transmit the one or more images to the computing device (113) for display.

2. The HBM device (101) as claimed in claim 1 further comprises a polarizer coupled to the illumination unit (103) configured to illuminate the tissue (102) with light of a particular polarization.

3. The HBM device (101) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the collection optics unit (105) further comprises the crossed polarizer (105b) configured to reduce specular reflection from the tissue (102).

4. The HBM device (101) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tailored optical filter (105c) transmits the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light in the predefined wavelength range to stream the live video of the tissue fluorescence and capture the one or more images of the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light in the tissue (102).

5. A system for multimodal and multispectral imaging of a tissue (102), the system comprising:

A Hand-held Biophotonic Medical (HBM) device (101) comprising:
an illumination unit (103) comprising a predefined combination of one or more illumination devices (103a) emitting at one or more predefined wavelengths with predefined bandwidths to illuminate the tissue (102) through a polarizer;
a miniature monochrome imaging device (108) configured to:
stream live video of tissue fluorescence upon absorption of incident light by constituents of the tissue (102); and
capture one or more images of the tissue fluorescence and diffusely reflected light due to multiple elastic scattering of the incident light in the tissue (102) in real-time;
an hardware switch (110) configured to generate one or more trigger pulses when triggered;
a collection optics unit (105) comprising:
a lens (105a) configured to collect tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light from the tissue (102) upon illumination, and direct it through a crossed polarizer (105b) to a tailored optical filter (105c); and
the tailored optical filter (105c) configured to transmit light in a predefined wavelength range that matches the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light;
a control unit (109) configured to:
receive the one or more trigger pulses from at least one of the hardware switch (110) or a computing device (113) associated with the HBM device (101);
trigger the one or more illumination devices (103a) sequentially to illuminate the tissue (102) upon receiving the one or more trigger pulses;
control the miniature monochrome imaging device (108) upon receiving the one or more trigger signals to capture the one or more images; and
transmit the one or more images to the computing device (113) for display;
the computing device (113) configured to:
transmit trigger pulses to the HBM device (101) to activate the one or more illumination devices (103a) sequentially and the miniature monochrome imaging device (108);
receive the one or more images of the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light of the tissue (102) captured by the miniature monochrome imaging device (108) upon illumination of the tissue (102) by the one or more illumination devices (103a) from the HBM device (101);
detect changes in intensity of oxygenated haemoglobin absorption in the predefined wavelength range in the tissue (102) by analysing the one or more images;

obtain one or more pseudo coloured images by false colouring the one or more images captured by the miniature monochrome imaging device (108);

determine image intensity ratio values of the one or more images captured by the miniature monochrome imaging device (108) in the predefined wavelength range;

identify Regions of Interest (ROI) comprising a maximum change in the image intensity ratio values when compared to a predefined standard ratio value, wherein the predefined standard ratio values are related to the ROI of a similar (corresponding) site in a normal (healthy) tissue (102);

determine at least one of a grade of cancer or a grade of inflammation in the tissue (102) automatically based on the intensity of the oxygenated haemoglobin absorption and by correlating the image intensity ratio values obtained from the one or more images using a diagnosing algorithm.

6. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the computing device (113) displays the one or more images in real-time and the live video.

7. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the computing device (113) is further configured to superimpose at least one of the one or more images or the determined image intensity ratio values, to reduce false diagnosis of the tissue (102).

8. A method for multimodal and multispectral imaging of a tissue (102), the method comprising:
streaming, by a Hand-held Biophotonic Medical (HBM) device (101), a live video of tissue fluorescence upon powering on the HBM device (101), wherein the live video is obtained using a miniature monochrome imaging device (108) associated with the HBM device (101);
receiving, by a Hand-held Biophotonic Medical (HBM) device (101), one or more trigger pulses generated by at least one of a hardware switch (110) of the HBM device (101) when triggered or a computing device (113) associated with the HBM device (101);
triggering, by the HBM device (101), one or more illumination devices (103a) sequentially to illuminate the tissue (102) upon receiving the one or more trigger pulses;
controlling, by the HBM device (101), the miniature monochrome imaging device (108) to capture the one or more images of the tissue fluorescence upon absorption of incident light by constituents of the tissue (102) and diffusely reflected light due to multiple elastic scattering of the incident light at a predefined wavelength range from the tissue (102) in real-time using the miniature monochrome imaging device (108) and a collection optics unit (105) associated with the HBM device (101); and
transmitting, by the HBM device (101), the one or more images to the computing device (113) for display.
9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the illumination unit (103) comprises a predefined combination of one or more illumination devices (103a) of one or more predefined wavelengths and predefined bandwidths.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the collection optics unit (105) comprises:
a lens (105a) configured to collect the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light from the tissue (102) upon illumination and direct it through a crossed polarizer (105b) to a tailored optical filter (105c);and
the tailored optical filter (105c) configured to transmit light in a predefined wavelength range that matches the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light.
11. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the computing device (113) is further configured to:
transmit trigger pulses to the HBM device (101) to trigger the one or more illumination devices (103a) sequentially and the miniature monochrome imaging device (108);
receive the one or more images of the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light of the tissue (102) captured by the miniature monochrome imaging device (108) upon illumination of the tissue (102) by the one or more illumination devices (103a) from the HBM device (101);
detect changes in intensity of oxygenated haemoglobin absorption in the predefined wavelength range in the tissue (102) by analysing the one or more images;
obtain one or more pseudo coloured images by false colouring the one or more images captured by the miniature monochrome imaging device (108);
determine image intensity ratio values of the one or more images captured by the miniature monochrome imaging device (108) in the predefined wavelength range;
identify Regions of Interest (ROI) comprising a maximum change in the image intensity ratio values when compared to a predefined standard ratio value, wherein the predefined standard ratio values are related to the ROI of a similar (corresponding) site in normal (healthy) tissue (102); and
determine at least one of a grade of cancer or a grade of inflammation in the tissue (102) automatically based on the intensity of the oxygenated haemoglobin absorption and by correlating the image intensity ratio values obtained from the one or more images using a diagnosing algorithm.
12. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the computing device (113) displays the one or more images in real-time and the live video.

13. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the computing device (113) is further configured to superimpose at least one of the one or more images or the determined image intensity ratio values to reduce false diagnosis of the tissue (102).
, Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
The present subject matter relates generally to a medical device, and more particularly, but not exclusively to a hand-held biophotonic medical device, a method and a system for multimodal and multispectral imaging of a tissue.
BACKGROUND
Nowadays, cancer is a growing concern across the world. Burden of cancer is alarmingly high and it is expected to grow from 10 million new cases globally in the year 2000 to 15 million new cases globally in the year 2020. Many types of cancer grow from epithelial tissues covering inner and outer linings of a human body, such as gastrointestinal (GI) tract, oral cavity, cervix, colon and stomach. The Oro-pharyngeal cancer type is a significant component of the global cancer burden and is a sixth most common type of cancer internationally. Early detection of localized lesions and pre-malignant to dysplastic changes in the oral cavity facilitates adoption of appropriate preventive and treatment strategies that can influence disease outcomes and reduce mortality. Early detection of various changes in oral mucosa leading to cancer can save lives of the people suffering from cancer.
However, in normal clinical settings, it is extremely challenging for the clinicians to visually identify the most malignant site in a lesion for tissue biopsy and pathology. Therefore, the patients may have to undergo multiple biopsies that are painful to achieve appropriate diagnosis. Existing techniques for screening patients for oral cancer and precancerous lesions include obtaining a fluorescence spectra and diffuse reflectance spectra that are analysed using multivariate analytical techniques to detect cancer. As an example, a Multispectral optical imaging Digital Microscope (MDM) is a device that acquires in-vivo images of oral tissue fluorescence, along with recording of narrow band (NB) reflectance and orthogonal polarized reflectance to improve accuracy in detection of cancer. Though the MDM improves accuracy in detecting cancer, there still exists discrepancy as the device cannot be inserted into the human body. Therefore, the in-vivo images are obtained by fixing cameras outside the human body which cannot be completely relied upon as the fixed position of the cameras may not capture a clear image of the affected regions inside the human body. Also, these types of devices for detecting cancer are bulky and heavy in nature, thereby lacking a portability factor and also ease of handling the device. Further, these types of devices may achieve selected collection of the diffusely reflected light and tissue fluorescence by using filters such as Liquid Crystal Tunable Filters that are extremely expensive, thereby increasing cost of the device on the whole. Also, most of the existing techniques use either fluorescence imaging or diffuse reflectance imaging for detecting abnormalities in tissue or a combination of fluorescence and diffuse reflectance imaging. However, there exists no device that could perform multimodal imaging combining tissue autofluorescence, absorption and diffuse reflectance.
SUMMARY
One or more shortcomings of the prior art may be overcome and additional advantages may be provided through the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages may be realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed disclosure.

Disclosed herein is a Hand-held Biophotonic Medical (HBM) device for multimodal and multispectral imaging of a tissue. The HBM device comprises an illumination unit comprising a predefined combination of one or more illuminating devices emitting at one or more predefined wavelengths with predefined bandwidths to illuminate the tissue through a polarizer. The HBM device further comprises a miniature monochrome imaging device configured to stream live video of tissue fluorescence upon absorption of incident light by constituents of the tissue. The miniature monochrome imaging device captures one or more images of the tissue fluorescence, upon the absorption of the incident light by the constituents of the tissue, and diffusely reflected light due to multiple elastic scattering of the incident light in the tissue, in real-time. Further, the HBM device comprises a hardware switch configured to provide one or more trigger pulses to a control unit of the HBM device when triggered. Furthermore, the HBM comprises a collection optics unit comprising a lens that collects the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light from the tissue upon illumination and directs it through a crossed polarizer (105b) to a tailored optical filter. The tailored optical filter transmits light in a predefined wavelength range covering the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light. The control unit receives the one or more trigger pulses from the hardware switch. Further, the control unit drives the one or more illuminating devices sequentially to illuminate the tissue for a particular duration upon receiving the one or more trigger pulses. Furthermore, the control unit controls the miniature monochrome imaging device upon receiving the one or more trigger signals to capture the one or more images. Finally, the control unit transmits the one or more images to the computing device for display and further processing.

Further, the present disclosure relates to a system for multimodal and multispectral imaging of a tissue. The system comprises a Hand-held Biophotonic Medical (HBM) device and a computing device. The HBM device comprises an illumination unit consisting of a predefined combination of one or more illuminating devices emitting at one or more predefined wavelengths with predefined bandwidths to illuminate the tissue through a polarizer. The HBM device further comprises a miniature monochrome imaging device configured to stream live video of tissue fluorescence upon absorption of incident light by constituents of the tissue. The miniature monochrome imaging device captures one or more images of the tissue fluorescence upon the absorption of the incident light by the constituents of the tissue and diffusely reflected light due to multiple elastic scattering of the incident light in the tissue, in real-time. Further, the HBM device comprises a hardware switch configured to provide one or more trigger pulses to a control unit of the HBM device. Furthermore, the HBM device comprises a collection optics unit comprising a lens that collects the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light from the tissue upon illumination, and directs it through a crossed polarizer (105b) to a tailored optical filter. The tailored optical filter transmits light in a predefined wavelength range covering the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light. The control unit receives the one or more trigger pulses from the hardware switch. Further, the control unit drives the one or more illuminating devices sequentially to illuminate the tissue for a particular duration upon receiving the one or more trigger pulses. Upon illuminating the tissue, the control unit controls the miniature monochrome imaging device upon receiving the one or more trigger signals to capture the one or more images. Finally, the control unit is configured to transmit the one or more images captured to the computing device for display and further processing. The one or more illuminating devices and the miniature monochrome imaging device can be triggered sequentially via the hardware switch. Further, the computing device receives at least one of the live video of the tissue fluorescence and the one or more images of the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light of the tissue captured by the miniature monochrome imaging device upon illumination of the tissue by the one or more illuminating devices of the HBM device. Further, the computing device detects changes in intensity of oxygenated haemoglobin absorption in tissue, at predefined wavelength range in the tissue by analysing the one or more images. Further, the computing device obtains one or more pseudo coloured images by false colouring the one or more images captured by the miniature monochrome imaging device. Furthermore, the computing device determines image intensity ratio values of the one or more images captured by the miniature monochrome image capturing device in the predefined wavelength range. Upon determining the image intensity ratio values, the computing device identifies Regions of Interest (ROI) comprising a maximum change in the image intensity ratio values when compared to predefined standard ratio values, wherein the predefined standard ratio values are related to the ROI of a similar (corresponding) site in a normal (healthy) tissue. Finally, the computing device determines at least one of a grade of cancer or a grade of inflammation in the tissue automatically based on the intensity of the oxygenated haemoglobin absorption and by correlating the image intensity ratio values obtained from the one or more images using a diagnosing algorithm.
Furthermore, the present disclosure comprises a method for multimodal and multispectral imaging of a tissue. The method comprises streaming, by a Hand-held Biophotonic Medical (HBM) device, a live video of tissue fluorescence upon powering on the HBM device. The live video is obtained using a miniature monochrome imaging device associated with the HBM device. Further, the method comprises receiving, by a Hand-held Biophotonic Medical (HBM) device, one or more trigger pulses from a hardware switch of the HBM device. Upon receiving the one or more trigger pulses, the HBM device triggers one or more illuminating devices sequentially to illuminate the tissue. Further, the HBM device controls a miniature monochrome imaging device to capture one or more images of the tissue fluorescence upon absorption of incident light by constituents of the tissue and diffusely reflected light due to multiple elastic scattering of the incident light at a predefined wavelength range from the tissue in real-time using the miniature monochrome imaging device and a collection optics unit associated with the HBM device. Finally, the HBM device transmits the one or more images to the computing device for display.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DIAGRAMS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the disclosed principles. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system and/or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

FIG.1A shows an exemplary system illustrating process for multimodal and multispectral imaging of a tissue in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG.1B and FIG.1C show a top view and a side view of the Hand-held Biophotonic Medical (HBM) device respectively in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG.1D shows an exemplary graph illustrating transmission characteristics of a tailored optical filter in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG.1E shows internal architecture of the system for multimodal and multispectral imaging of a tissue in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG.1F shows an exemplary application layer of miniature monochrome imaging device and a computing device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
FIG.2 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for multimodal and multispectral imaging of a tissue in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of the present subject matter. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the present document, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.
While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the scope of the disclosure.
The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes” or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device or method that includes a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or method.
The present disclosure provides a Hand-held Biophotonic Medical (HBM) device for multimodal and multispectral imaging of a tissue. The multiple modes included in this disclosure are fluorescence, absorption and diffuse reflectance. In some embodiments, the fluorescence may be at least one of autofluorescence or photosensitizer-induced fluorescence. The HBM device is a light weighted, easily handled, portable device, and can be easily inserted into parts of a body such as oral cavity, cervix and the like. In some embodiments, the HBM device may be fixed to an external body and used as a fixed device instead of a hand-held device. Further, the HBM device can be adapted for coupling to endoscopes to examine internal organs of the body. The HBM device comprises a hardware switch that provides one or more trigger pulses to a control unit of the HBM device when triggered. In some embodiments, the one or more trigger pulses may be provided using a computing device connected with the HBM device. Upon receiving the trigger pulse, the control unit activates the illumination unit that in turn sequentially triggers one or more illuminating devices present in the illumination unit. The present disclosure discloses use of multiple Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) of one or more predefined wavelengths for illuminating the tissue. Optical narrowband interference filters are alternatively mounted on top of the LEDs to reduce the spectral emission bandwidth wherever required. The use of LEDs instead of other light sources such as white light source, tungsten halogen lamp, mercury-xenon lamp and the like eliminates the need for expensive filters such as liquid crystal tunable filters, acousto-optic tunable filters and the like in the detection path for multispectral imaging. Further, the HBM device comprises a miniature monochrome imaging device configured to stream live video of tissue fluorescence upon absorption of incident light by constituents of the tissue and capture one or more images of the tissue fluorescence and diffusely reflected light in the tissue in real-time upon illumination of the tissue with polarised light of predefined wavelength and predefined bandwidth. The one or more images captured by the miniature monochrome imaging device is representative of biochemical, morphological and structural changes in tissue during malignant transformation and is based on the absorption, elastic scattering and fluorescence of light in a predefined wavelength and spatial range received by the collection optics unit. The collection optics unit may include, but not limited to, a lens, a crossed polarizer and a tailored optical filter. The wide angle lens collects the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light and directs it to a monochrome sensor via a tailored optical filter and a crossed polarizer that minimizes/removes the specular reflection component in the diffusely reflected light. The tailored optical filter is an interference band filter that transmits only light of one or more predefined wavelengths covering tissue fluorescence, and the diffusely reflected light at the HbO2 absorption wavelengths of 545 and 575 nm, and at the HbO2 absorption-free wavelength around 610 nm. In the present embodiment for oral cancer screening, the tailored optical filter transmits light in the 450-620nm wavelength range. Whereas for cervical cancer screening, the tailored optical filter to block the 365 nm LED light used for inducing collagen fluorescence, while transmitting the collagen fluorescence and the elastically scattered light from the other 3 LEDs used for diffuse reflectance imaging. Further, the interference filters for spectral narrowing of LED light has a bandwidth (FWHM) of 8±2 nm, centred at 546±2 nm, 578±2nm, and 610±2nm to precisely match wavelength of the illuminating device to the HbO2 absorption maxima and reduce off-absorption band interferences to the signal. Use of the narrowband interference filters improves image quality and reduce interference associated with the larger bandwidth of the one or more illuminating devices and their mismatch, if any, with HbO2 absorption maxima. Further, the control unit transmits the one or more images captured and the live video image to a computing device connected to the HBM device.
Initially, the HBM device is calibrated by capturing one or more images of the diffuse reflectance for different illuminating sources of light and from a dark background target positioned at the focal plane. Upon capturing the one or more images, the HBM device is used to screen for suspicious lesions with 405 nm illumination for obtaining a live video. On identification of suspicious lesions via the live video, one or more diffuse reflectance and fluorescence images are captured by sequentially illuminating the lesions with light emitted from multiple LED sources.
The computing device processes the one or more images captured to remove effects due to non-uniform illumination, specular reflection, spherical aberration, etc. and analyses these images to detect the grade of cancer and/or inflammation in the tissue. Diffuse reflectance image ratios (R545/R575, R610/R545 and R610/R575) are computed from the processed images and are Pseudo Colour Mapped (PCM) and displayed in real time to provide an improved and clear visualization of abnormalities in the tissue. The most malignant site in the lesion coincides with the maximum value of the R545/R575 ratio as displayed in the PCM image, and gets represented as the Region Of Interest (ROI). The mean pixel intensity of the ROI is further used in a scatterplot to correlate with histopathological results of biopsy using a diagnosing algorithm that assess level of malignancy and inflammatory status of the tissue. Further, an increase in the R610/575 ratio also serves as an indicator of the grade of the tissue inflammation. Further, the present disclosure includes superimposition of one or more images of tissue fluorescence and diffuse reflectance ratios to reduce false diagnosis and improve accuracy in detecting the grade of cancer and the grade of inflammation. The HBM device disclosed in the present disclosure is non-invasive, as a result of which optical technologies such as those based on autofluorescence and diffuse reflectance have the potential to improve accuracy and availability of cancer screening by interrogating changes in tissue architecture, cell morphology and biochemical composition.
In the following detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.

FIG.1A shows an exemplary system illustrating process for multimodal and multispectral imaging of a tissue in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

The system 100 includes a Hand-held Biophotonic Medical (HBM) device 101, a tissue 102 and a computing device 113. The HBM device 101 is connected to the computing device 113 via a wired communication network. In some embodiments, the HBM device 101 may be associated with the computing device 113 via wireless communication networks. As an example, the computing device 113 may include, but not limited to a mobile, a tablet, a laptop and a desktop. In some embodiments, the computing device 113 is configured with a display screen (not shown in the FIG.1A). In some other embodiments, the computing device 113 may be associated with a display device (not shown in the FIG.1A), if the computing device 113 is not configured with the display screen.

In some embodiments, as shown in the FIG.1A, the HBM device 101 comprises an illumination unit 103, a collection optics unit 105 comprising a lens 105a, a crossed polarizer 105b and a tailored optical filter 105c, a miniature monochrome imaging device 108, a monochrome sensor 108a, a control unit 109, an hardware switch 110, a communication bus 111a and a control bus 111b.
In some embodiments, when the HBM device 101 is powered on, an illuminating device 103a of the illumination unit 103 may be emitting at 405 nm suitable for inducing Protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) or FAD fluorescence from tissues or may be emitting at 365 nm suitable for inducing collagen fluorescence. Further, the miniature monochrome imaging device 108 associated with the HBM device 101 streams the live video of the tissue fluorescence to a computing device 113 associated with the HBM device 101, when the tissue 102 is illuminated by the illuminating devices 103a emitting at 405nm. Upon displaying the live video by the computing device 113, one or more trigger pulses may be generated based on requirement such as when a tissue abnormality is detected in the live video. In some embodiments, the one or more trigger pulses may be generated by manually triggering the hardware switch 110 or by using the computing device 113.
In some embodiments, the hardware switch 110 is located on upper body of the HBM device 101 as shown in the FIG.1B that shows a top view of the HBM device 101. In some embodiments, the hardware switch 110 may be located at any other place on the HBM device 101. The hardware switch 110 may be at least one of hard buttons and touch screen icons. In some alternative embodiments, the one or more trigger pulses may be generated by the computing device 113. The one or more trigger pulses generated may be transmitted to the control unit 109 via the control bus 111b.

In some embodiments, the control unit 109 receives the one or more trigger pulses generated by the hardware switch 110 or the computing device 113 via the control bus 111b. Upon receiving the one or more trigger pulses, the control unit 109 activates the illumination unit 103. In some embodiments, activating the illumination unit 103 includes sequentially triggering one or more illuminating devices 103a configured within the illumination unit 103. In some embodiments, the one or more illuminating devices 103a may include, but not limited to, one or more Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). Each of the one or more illuminating devices 103a emit at one or more predefined wavelengths with predefined bandwidths. As an example, if the HBM device 101 is used for examining the oral cavity, the one or more illuminating devices 103a may be the one or more LEDs emitting at, but not limited to, one or more predefined wavelengths of 405nm, 535nm, 580nm and 610nm and emission bandwidth Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM) of 20-30 nm. In some embodiments, the one or more illuminating devices 103a are arranged in a circular pattern in the illumination unit 103 as shown in the FIG.1C. Further, in some embodiments, the one or more illuminating devices 103a positioned at diametrically opposite locations within the circular arrangement of the illumination unit 103 may be of the same predefined wavelength and the same predefined bandwidth to achieve uniform illumination of the tissue 102. Furthermore, in some embodiments, light from the one or more illuminating devices 103a positioned within the circular arrangement of the illumination unit 103 may be passing through narrowband interference filters of predefined wavelength and bandwidth to match the absorption of targeted absorbers in the tissue 102. As an example, in case of oral cancer detection, the narrowband interference filters of 8 ±2nm bandwidth (FWHM) centered at 546 nm, 578 nm and 610 nm (±2nm) may be used to precisely match the predefined wavelength of the one or more illuminating devices 103a with oxygenated hemoglobin absorption peaks and its off-absorption wavelength. Further, in case of cervical cancer detection, the illuminating device emitting at the predefined wavelength of 405nm may be replaced with another illuminating device emitting at 365nm to match absorptions peaks of Collagen. In some embodiments, the narrowband interference filters may be fixed on acrylic glass window at front end of the device 103a. In some embodiments, each of the one or more illuminating devices 103a may be associated with a polarizer (not shown in the figures) such that light emitted from the each of the one or more illuminating devices 103a passes through the polarizer to obtain the light of a particular polarization.

Furthermore, upon receiving the one or more trigger pulses, the control unit 109 activates the miniature monochrome imaging device 108 integrated within the HBM device 101. As an example, the monochrome miniature imaging device 108 may be a miniature monochrome Universal Serial Bus (USB) camera. The miniature monochrome imaging device 108 comprises a monochrome sensor 108a that converts light waves into electrical signals that represent the captured images. As an example, the monochrome sensor 108a may be a Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) sensor, a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) sensor and the like. In some embodiments, when the one or more illuminating devices 103a illuminate the tissue 102, the miniature monochrome imaging device 108 may capture one or more images of the tissue fluorescence upon absorption of the light by constituents of the tissue 102 and diffusely reflected light due to multiple elastic scattering of the incident light in the tissue 102 in real-time. As an example, the tissue fluorescence may be captured when the illuminating device 103a having the predefined wavelength of 405nm or 365 nm with a predefined bandwidth illuminates the tissue 102.

In some embodiments, the following series of actions occur upon activating the illumination unit 103 and the miniature monochrome imaging device 108.

The one or more illuminating devices 103a may be sequentially triggered upon activating the illumination unit 103. The incident light emitted by the one or more illuminating devices 103a passes through the polarizer associated with the one or more illuminating devices 103a. The incident light passing through the polarizer illuminates the tissue 102 with light of a particular polarization. The incident light of particular polarization is absorbed by constituents of the tissue 102. As an example, the constituents of the tissue 102 may be Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide (FAD), Porphyrins, NADH, collagen, protoporphyrin IX, bacteria and their emissions and the like. In some embodiments, the absorption of the incident light of the particular polarization produces the tissue fluorescence. Further, the incident light may be diffusely reflected due to multiple elastic scattering in the tissue 102. Furthermore, the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light passes through the collection optics unit 105. The lens 105a is positioned within the collection optics unit 105 as shown in the FIG.1A. The lens 105a collects the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light from the tissue 102 and directs towards the tailored optical filter 105c via the crossed polarizer 105b. As an example, the tailored optical filter 105c may be a tailored broadband interference filter. In some embodiments, the crossed polarizer 105b is positioned between the lens 105a and the tailored optical filter 105c in a crossed position. The crossed polarizer 105b minimizes/removes specular reflection component in the diffusely reflected light.

In some embodiments, upon receiving the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light from the lens 105a, the tailored optical filter 105c transmits light of a predefined wavelength range (also referred to as one or more predefined wavelengths) that matches the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light to the monochrome sensor 108a. The tailored optical filter 105c is constructed such that only the light of the predefined wavelength range passes through the tailored optical filter 105c. As an example, the predefined wavelength range of the tailored optical filter 105c may typically be 475-615 nm (at FWHM) if the absorption is related to the tissue constituents such as FAD, porphyrin and NADH that emit fluorescence in the predefined wavelength range. As an example, if the absorption is related to collagen and other tissue absorbers at 365 nm in cervical tissues, the tailored optical filter 105c may have a transmission in the 420-615 nm range (at FWHM). Exemplary transmission characteristics of the tailored optical filter 105c and emission characteristics of the one or more illuminating devices 103a i.e. LEDs emitting at 405nm, 545nm, 575nm and 610nm of the illumination unit 103 of the HBM device are shown in the FIG.1D. In the FIG.1D, X-axis 117b represents Wavelength in nanometre (nm) and Y-axis 117a represents transmission of the tailored optical filter 105c in percentage. As an example, during screening of the tissue 101, fluorescence emission from the tissue constituents at 500 nm may be allowed to pass through the tailored optical filter 105c, while the emitted light of 405 nm that induces the fluorescence emission from the tissue 101 is completely blocked from reaching the miniature monochrome imaging device 108. Further, the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light transmitted by the tailored optical filter 105c are received by the monochrome sensor 108a. The miniature monochrome imaging device 108 may capture the one or more images by converting the tissue fluorescence or the diffusely reflected light in the predefined wavelength ranges into electrical signals due to photoelectric effect in the monochrome sensor 108a. In some embodiments, the live video may be streamed at low resolution and higher frame rate and the one or more images may be captured at high resolution. Further, the miniature monochrome imaging device 108 transmits the one or more images to the computing device 113 via the communication bus 111a.

In some embodiments, the computing device 113 may receive the one or more images from the HBM device 101. In some embodiments, the computing device 113 may be installed with an image processing application combined with a diagnosing algorithm. In some embodiments, the diagnosing algorithm is a machine learning algorithm. The computing device 113 may analyze the one or more images using the image processing application to detect changes in intensity of oxygenated hemoglobin and other absorbers in the tissue 102 at the predefined wavelength range. Further, the computing device 113 generates one or more pseudo colored images of the one or more images received by the computing device 113. The one or more pseudo colored images are obtained by false coloring the one or more images. False coloring the one or more images provides a clear visualization of abnormalities in the tissue 102. Furthermore, the computing device 113 determines image intensity ratio values of the one or more images captured by the miniature monochrome imaging device 108. As an example, consider the one or more images of the diffusely reflected light captured at the predefined wavelength range 545nm, 575nm and 610nm by the miniature monochrome imaging device 108. Therefore, the image intensity ratio values may be computed as R545/R575, R610/R575 and R610/R545. Upon determining the image intensity ratio values, the computing device 113 may identify Regions of Interest (ROI) comprising a maximum change in the image intensity ratio values when compared to a predefined standard ratio value. In some embodiments, the predefined standard ratio value is related to the ROI of a similar (corresponding) site in a normal healthy tissue. As an example, tissues in the oral cavity may show dips at 545nm and 575nm due to absorption by oxygenated haemoglobin. The image intensity ratio value R545nm/R575nm is lowest for the normal healthy tissue in the oral cavity. Therefore, a high image intensity ratio value of R545nm/R575nm is considered as the maximum change when compared to the image intensity ratio value in the normal healthy tissue. The computing device 113 determines at least one of grade of cancer or a grade of inflammation in the tissue 102 automatically based on the intensity of the oxygenated haemoglobin absorption and by correlating the image intensity ratio values obtained from the one or more images using a diagnosing algorithm. The diagnosing algorithm correlates the image intensity ratio values with pathological reports of tissue biopsy from the same site. As an example, decrease in the image intensity ratio value R545nm/R575nm at a particular ROI or a increase in the image intensity ratio value R610/R575 at the same ROI may indicate an inflammatory condition of the tissue 102. Therefore, the diagnosing algorithm may determine grade of inflammation based on the amount of increase or decrease in the image intensity ratio values. Further, the computing device 113 may superimpose at least one of the one or more images or their image intensity ratio values to reduce false diagnosis of the tissue 102. As an example, the image intensity ratio value R545/R575 may be superimposed on the tissue fluorescence image to increase accuracy in detecting the grade of cancer and grade of inflammation. Further, the computing device 113 may store information related to a patient being diagnosed using the HBM device 101. As an example, the information related to the patient may include, but not limited to, name of the patient, age of the patient, sex of the patient, medical condition of the patient and the determined grade of inflammation or grade of cancer of the patient.

FIG.1E shows internal architecture of the system for multimodal and multispectral imaging of a tissue in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Each block of represented in the FIG.1E should be considered as a unit block.

The internal architecture comprises the unit block “power filtering and a protection 119” that activates a Hand-Held Biophotonic Medical (HBM) Device 101 by supplying power that is filtered according to requirement of the HBM device 101. In some embodiments, the power is received from a power adaptor 118 associated with the HBM device 101. In some embodiments, the power adaptor 118 may be replaced with a portable battery bank for operating the HBM device 101 even in remote areas without electricity. Further, the unit block “power filtering and protection 119” includes electrostatic discharge and under/over current protection features that protects the HBM device 101 from external power fluctuations. Furthermore, the unit block “power isolation 123” isolates the power using a digital-optical isolation Integrated Circuit (IC), that in turn protects both a miniature monochrome imaging device 108 and a driver board 120 from internal power variations integrated in the HBM device 101. Further, the unit block “signal multiplexer 125” is configured to split two bits signals received from the unit block “ power isolation 123” to four analog signals. Each of these four analog signals is used to switch the unit block “high speed Light Emitting Diode (LED) drivers 127”. The unit block “high speed LED drivers 127” comprises a Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFET) based switching circuit that provides high speed switching. Further, the unit block “high speed LED drivers 127” also comprises a variable resistor for fine tuning output power of the LEDs such as LED1 127a, LED2 127b, LED3 127c and LED4 127d and a current limiting resistor for protection of the LEDs. Further, the internal architecture comprises the unit block “trigger circuit 121” that is configured to generate one or more trigger pulses as input to the miniature monochrome imaging device 108, that in turn communicates with a computing device 113.

FIG.1F shows an exemplary application layer of miniature monochrome imaging device and a computing device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

In the FIG.1F, a miniature monochrome camera 128 comprising a monochrome Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) sensor 129 featuring a high frame rate (30 fps) with high-speed data transfer via Universal Serial Bus [USB] 2.0 is represented. The General-Purpose Input/Output [GPIO] controller 132 of the miniature monochrome camera 128 controls the Light Emitting Diode (LED) switching via a hardware trigger. These functionalities are performed by the Field-Programmable Gate Array [FPGA] 131 inside the miniature monochrome camera 128. Further, the miniature monochrome camera 128 is controlled by an application running on a Tablet/computer 139. The Application Programming Interface (API) communicates with the miniature monochrome camera 128 via a USB Driver 133 of the computer 139. The FPGA 131 has a built in USB Controller 133 that is configured to maintain communication of the miniature monochrome camera 128 with the computer 139. The application has the capability for streaming a live video and capture and display captured images on a user interface/display interface 140 of the computer 139. It controls the GPIOs, processes the one or more images with suitable algorithms and manages patient health records.

The application layer is responsible for the operation of the Hand-held Biophotonic Medical Device (HBM) device 101. Following are steps to be executed by the application.
1. Collect and store patient information.
2. Imaging process
a. Send command to GPIO controller 132 in the FPGA 131 and turn on respective port.
b. Send command to acquisition controller 130 in the GPIO to grab frame in low resolution.
c. View the live frames in the window of the application.
d. On hardware trigger the GPIO controller 132 will send signal to FPGA 131.
e. FPGA 131 will send signal to application via USB 133.
f. Application will start initiating the multispectral imaging process with respect to signal.
g. The application will send the command to GPIO controller 132 in the FPGA 131 and turns on the respective port.
h. Further, the application will send command to the acquisition controller 130 in the GPIO to grab frame in high resolution.
i. This process is repeated in accordance with imaging sequence.

Further, the image acquisition 135 and image processing 136 parts of the application correct the one or more images for lens aberration. Further, the one or more images are pseudo colour mapped for determining pixel intensity values from Region Of Interest (ROI), that are in turn compared by a diagnosing algorithm present in the computer 139 with pathology. Finally, the electronic health records 137 are stored along with images and the patient information, that are further secured by transmitting them to cloud storage.

FIG.2 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for multimodal and multispectral imaging of a tissue in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
As illustrated in FIG.2, the method 200 includes one or more blocks illustrating a method for providing gesture-based interaction with a virtual product. The method 200 may be described in the general context of computer executable instructions. Generally, computer executable instructions can include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, and functions, which perform functions or implement abstract data types.

The order in which the method 200 is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method 200. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the method 200 can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof.

At block 201, the method 200 may include streaming, by a Hand-held Biophotonic Medical (HBM) device 101, a live video of tissue fluorescence. In some embodiments, the HBM device 101 is powered on manually. Upon powering on the HBM device 101, by default, an illuminating device 103a emitting at a fluorescence inducing wavelength such as 405nm is activated. Further, a miniature monochrome imaging device 108 associated with the HBM device 101 streams the live video of the tissue fluorescence to a computing device 113 associated with the HBM device 101, when a tissue 102 is illuminated by the illuminating device 103a emitting at 405nm or at 365nm.
At block 203, the method 200 may include receiving, by the HBM device 101 one or more trigger pulses from a hardware switch 110 of the HBM device 101. In some embodiments, the one or more trigger pulses may be generated when the hardware switch 110 is triggered manually. In some alternative embodiments, the one or more trigger pulses may be generated by the computing device 113. The one or more trigger pulses may be generated based on requirement such as when a tissue abnormality is detected upon viewing the live video.
At block 203, the method 200 may include triggering, by the HBM device 101, one or more illuminating devices 103a sequentially to illuminate the tissue 102 upon receiving the one or more trigger pulses. The incident light pulses emitted by the one or more illuminating devices 103a passes through a polarizer and narrowband interference filters associated with the one or more illuminating devices 103a. The incident light passing through the polarizer and interference filter illuminates the tissue 102 with light of a particular polarization. The incident light of particular polarization is absorbed by constituents of the tissue 102 to generate tissue fluorescence and also undergo multiple elastic scattering and absorption by HbO2 in the tissue 102 to generate diffusely reflected light.
At block 205, the method 200 may include controlling, by the HBM device 101, a miniature monochrome image capturing device 108 associated with the HBM device 101 to capture one or more images of the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light in real-time using the miniature monochrome imaging device 108 and a collection optics unit 105 associated with the HBM device 101 upon receiving the one or more trigger pulses. In some embodiments, the collection optics unit 105 includes, but not limited to, a lens 105a, a crossed polarizer 105b and a tailored optical filter 105c. In some embodiments, one or more lenses may be present in the HBM device 101. The lens 105a collects the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light from the tissue 102 and directs the collected light through the tailored optical filter 105c via the crossed polarizer 105b. In some embodiments, the crossed polarizer 105b is positioned between the lens 105a and the tailored optical filter 105c in an orthogonal orientation with respect to the polarizer positioned in front of the one or more illuminating devices 103a to minimize/remove specular reflection component in the diffusely reflected light. The tailored optical filter 105c transmits light of a predefined wavelength range (also referred to as one or more predefined wavelengths) that matches the tissue fluorescence and the elastically scattered light from LEDs emitting at 545, 575 and 610 nm to the monochrome sensor 108a. Using the light in the predefined wavelength range, the miniature monochrome imaging device 108 captures the one or more images in a high resolution.
At block 207, the method 200 includes transmitting, by the HBM device 101, the one or more images to a computing device 113 connected with the HBM device 101 for further processing and display. In some embodiments, the processing involves correction of the light incident on the sensor for non-uniform illumination and extraction of diffusely reflected light using light reflected by one or more light sources from a reflectance standard. In some embodiments, the computing device 113 displays the live video and the one or more images in real-time.
In some embodiments, the computing device 113 may analyze the one or more images using the image processing application to detect changes in absorption intensity of oxygenated hemoglobin in the tissue 102 at the predefined wavelength range. The oxygenated hemoglobin has absorption maxima typically around 543nm and 577 nm. The haeme cycle is disturbed in malignant tissues due to the reduced activity of ferro chelatase enzyme leading to a selective accumulation of protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) and lower production of hemoglobin in the tissue 102. The accumulation of PpIX and the low production of hemoglobin introduces absorption anomalies in the oxygenated hemoglobin spectra that help in detecting presence of malignancy in the tissue 102 from the ratio of the one or more images captured at 545nm, 575nm and 610 nm.
Further, the computing device 113 generates one or more Pseudo Color Mapped (PCM) images by false coloring the one or more images or their ratio images. Further, the computing device 113 determines at least one of a grade of cancer or a grade of inflammation in the tissue 102 automatically based on the intensity of the oxygenated haemoglobin absorption and by correlating the image intensity ratio values at the ROI obtained from the one or more images using a diagnosing algorithm. As an example, the grade of cancer may be assigned based on whether the tissue 102 is determined to be poorly differentiated, moderately differentiated, well differentiated, dysplastic, hyperplastic and the like. As an example, the grade of inflammation may be minimal, mild, moderate, severe and the like. In some embodiments, the computing device 113 may perform superimposing at least one of the one or more images or the determined image intensity ratio values to reduce false diagnosis of the tissue 102. Further, the computing device 113 may store information related to a patient being diagnosed using the HBM device 101. In some embodiments, the patient may be, but not limited to, human beings. As an example, the information related to the patient may include, but not limited to, name of the patient, age of the patient, sex of the patient, medical condition of the patient and the determined grade of inflammation or grade of cancer of the patient.
Advantages of the embodiment of the present disclosure are illustrated herein.
In an embodiment, the present disclosure provides a Hand-held Biophotonic Medical (HBM) device, a method and a system for multimodal and multispectral imaging of a tissue. The multiple modes included in this disclosure are fluorescence, absorption and diffuse reflectance.
The HBM device disclosed in the present disclosure is non-invasive, as a result of which optical technologies such as those based on autofluorescence and diffuse reflectance imaging have the potential to improve accuracy and availability of cancer screening by interrogating changes in tissue architecture, cell morphology and biochemical composition.
The present disclosure discloses using Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) of one or more predefined wavelengths for illuminating the tissue. The use of LEDs instead of other light sources such as white light source, tungsten halogen lamp, mercury-xenon lamp, arc lamp and the like eliminates the need for expensive filters such as liquid crystal tunable filters, acousto-optic tunable filters, filter wheels and the like.
The present disclosure discloses a low-cost tailored optical filter that transmits only the light of one or more predefined wavelengths that match the tissue fluorescence and the diffusely reflected light.
The present disclosure discloses a feature wherein the LEDs emitting light of desired wavelength for fluorescence imaging and diffuse reflectance imaging are automatically triggered to illuminate the tissue. Therefore, as disclosed in few prior arts, manually operating a shutter to illuminate the tissue with the light of desired wavelength while blocking the light of undesired wavelength is avoided, and associated complications eliminated.
The present disclosure discloses a miniature monochrome camera integrated within the HBM device for live viewing of tissue fluorescence and to capture fluorescence and diffuse reflectance images of tissues.
Generally, premalignancies are characterized by increased nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio, which is assessed by histopathology. An oral lesion that is premalignant at some part may not be malignant at another location. Therefore, biopsy from one location of the lesion cannot be a representative of the entire lesion. Also, the resemblances of tissue inflammation and irritation with premalignant oral mucosal alterations and field cancerous changes are often challenging to understand. Therefore, the present disclosure discloses a machine-learning diagnosing algorithm that helps in easily detecting various grades of cancer such as a most malignant site, a pre-malignant site and the like and tissue inflammation using the diagnosing algorithm.
The HBM device is constructed in such a way that it is light weighted, easily hand held, portable, can be easily inserted into parts of a body such as the oral cavity, cervix and the like. Further, the HBM device can be adapted for use on endoscopes to examine internal organs of the body.
The present disclosure provides a feature wherein the one or more images are pseudo colour mapped before analysing, thus providing a better and clear visualization of tissue abnormalities in real time. Further, the present disclosure includes superimposing one or more images to reduce false diagnosis and improve accuracy in detecting grade of cancer and inflammation.
The HBM device disclosed in the present disclosure is used for screening for oral and cervical cancers that reduces unwanted biopsies and helps to identify the appropriate biopsy site in real time. Enabling the live video image and real-time imaging helps in performing the kind of screening that reduces many false negatives that are common with the present-day screening techniques. Further, the HBM device helps in minimizing the delay in diagnosis and planning of treatment strategies, thereby saving lives of many living beings suffering from cancer.
A description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the invention.
When a single device or article is described herein, it will be apparent that more than one device/article (whether or not they cooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein (whether or not they cooperate), it will be apparent that a single device/article may be used in place of the more than one device or article or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead of the shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are not explicitly described as having such functionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the invention need not include the device itself.
The specification has described a Hand-held Biophotonic Medical (HBM) device, a method and a system for multimodal and multispectral imaging of a tissue. The illustrated steps are set out to explain the exemplary embodiments shown, and it should be anticipated that on-going technological development will change the manner in which particular functions are performed. These examples are presented herein for purposes of illustration, and not limitation. Further, the boundaries of the functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of the description. Alternative boundaries can be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships thereof are appropriately performed. Alternatives (including equivalents, extensions, variations, deviations, etc., of those described herein) will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachings contained herein. Such alternatives fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments. Also, the words "comprising," "having," "containing," and "including," and other similar forms are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open-ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. It must also be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based here on. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present invention are intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

Reference Numerals:
Reference Number Description
100 Environment
101 Hand-held Biophotonic Medical device
102 Tissue
103 Illumination unit
103a One or more illuminating devices
105 Collection optics unit
105a Lens
105b Crossed polarizer
105c Tailored optical filter
108 Miniature monochrome imaging device
108a Monochrome sensor
109 Control unit
110 Hardware switch
111a Communication bus
111b Control bus
113 Computing device
117a Y-axis representing transmission (%)
117b X-axis representing wavelength (nm)
118 Power adapter
119 Power filtering and protection unit
120 Driver board
121 Trigger circuit
123 Power isolation unit
125 Signal multiplexer
127 High speed LED drivers
127a LED1
127b LED2
127c LED3
127d LED4
128 Monochrome camera
129 CMOS sensor
130 Acquisition controller
131 FPGA
132 GPIO controller
133 USB controller
134 GPIO control
135 Image acquisition
136 Image processing
137 Health records
138 USB
139 Tablet/computer
140 User interface