Spectroscopic signal detection during laser treatment

Abstract

To provide systems and methods for light signal detection.SOLUTION: A system for spectroscopic signal detection can comprise a spectrometer, a light source emitter configurable to emit a first signal toward a target, and an aiming light source emitter configurable to emit a second signal having a visible spectrum toward the target. The system can include a first optical component such as a filter for attenuating or removing noise associated with the second signal from a third signal from the target back to the spectrometer.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to spectroscopic signal detection during diagnostic or therapeutic laser treatment. [Background technology]

[0002] Therapeutic laser systems are used during surgical laser procedures, such as laser lithotripsy, where a physician may need to engage an object, such as a tumor or calculus ("stone"), within a patient's body. Such systems may utilize visible light radiation, which can act as an aiming beam to provide spatial information of the therapeutic laser either before or during the therapeutic laser light emission. Light reflected or returned from the object may be analyzed using spectroscopy to detect and characterize the object, distinguish the object from tissue, etc. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 16 / 984,447 Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] The system for detecting a spectroscopic signal can include a spectrometer, a light source emitter configurable to emit a first signal toward the object, and an aiming light source emitter configurable to emit a second signal toward the object. The second signal can be an aiming beam from a source such as a laser diode or light emitting diode (LED) that can illuminate an area where an ablation laser may be guided. The first signal can be a signal from a laser source such as a therapeutic (e.g., ablative) laser that can be used during a medical procedure to ablate tissue, reduce stones, etc. The system can include one or more optical components used in the laser fiber, such as filters, polarizers, coated lenses, or any similar components to attenuate or remove noise associated with the first and / or second signals from a third signal, such as a scattered signal, a reflected signal, etc., returning from the object to the spectrometer.

[0005] The spectrometer can be coupled to a laser fiber and / or a surgical fiber, which can then be coupled to, included within, or part of an endoscope for patient diagnosis or treatment. One or more optical components can be disposed in one or more signal paths, such as a first signal path between the surgical fiber and the spectrometer, a second signal path between the aiming light source emitter and the surgical fiber, and / or an optical path between the object and the spectrometer. An optical coupler or other housing or coating coupled to the laser fiber can be formed from a material capable of absorbing light reflected from a reflector or one or more other optical components included in the housing and used with the laser fiber. In this manner, the light-absorbing housing can help reduce the amount of stray light guided toward the spectrometer. The system can further include a controller coupled to the light source emitter, the aiming light source emitter, and / or the spectrometer. The controller can be configurable to pulse the aiming light source on and off and cause the spectrometer to collect a signal from the object when the aiming light source emitter is pulsed off.

[0006] The controller can also cause the spectrometer to analyze signals from the object at certain times or intervals, such as when the aiming light source emitter is pulsed off, or at any time desired depending on whether the aiming is on or off. Thus, the controller can be configured to control the operation or function of any light sources and / or spectrometers included within the system. Thus, the system can improve signal detection, such as for spectroscopic analysis, by helping to reduce, lower, or eliminate influences, interference, or noise from the aiming beam, which can significantly improve the quality of the signal detected from the object.

[0007] In the figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numerals may describe like components in different figures. Like numerals with different letter suffixes may indicate different instances of like components. The drawings illustrate generally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, various embodiments discussed in the present specification. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1A-1C illustrate examples of locations for placement of optical components within a laser system. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of portions of a laser system. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a graph of aiming beam intensity versus time in blink mode. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is an exemplary diagram of a method for spectroscopic signal detection during an in-vivo insertable medical procedure. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a machine upon which one or more embodiments may be implemented. [Figure 6] 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary computer-based clinical decision support system (CDSS). [Figure 7] FIG. 10 shows an example graph of the effect of optical components on the visible feedback spectrum. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present systems and methods can help improve spectroscopic signal detection during diagnostic or therapeutic laser procedures. Surgical laser procedures, such as laser lithotripsy, can use surgical laser systems. The surgical laser system can include a visible laser and an operating laser. The operating laser can include a diagnostic or therapeutic laser. The visible laser can act as an aiming beam, such as to indicate where a therapeutic or other operating laser is aimed. The visible laser can also help provide spatial information (e.g., beam diameter). The beam diameter or other spatial information can be viewed by a physician or other operator, such as through the visual optics of an endoscope or other scope or similar device. Such spatial information can be used (or signal processed for use) to help guide or steer the therapeutic laser, either before the therapeutic laser engages to emit its laser energy and / or simultaneously with the emission of energy by the therapeutic laser. Such laser systems can also include a responsive photodetector, such as a spectrometer, to provide a spectral analysis of an object (or material components of an object), such as within a patient's body. Spectrometers can be used to detect and characterize objects or to distinguish objects from healthy tissue (e.g., determine tumor margins). For example, light (visible or invisible) reflected, scattered, or emitted from an object toward a detector included in, within, or coupled to a laser system can be collected by a spectrometer for signal processing, spectroscopic analysis, and the like. The spectrometer can analyze signals resulting from the object and, based thereon, determine characteristics associated with the object. Object characteristics can include, for example, the object's composition, hardness, density, or any similar characteristic. Additionally, one or more of the laser settings (e.g., laser intensity) can be adjusted based at least in part on the object characteristics.

[0010] A "clean" spectroscopic signal may require:

[0011] 1. An endoscopic light source that is "on." The light source may include a xenon light source. The light source may include a continuous non-pulsed emitting lamp or an LED light source. An LED light source may be pulsed to achieve a lower average intensity (as determined by the duty cycle of the pulse), etc. When an LED light source is pulsed "on," it may emit high density optical energy. When an LED light source is not pulsed "on," it does not emit optical energy and, as a result, has no spectrum.

[0012] 2. Laser radiation is "turned off." This reduces or eliminates the occurrence of high-intensity radiation due to thermal degradation effects. High-intensity radiation can take time (e.g., approximately 1 ms) to decay. Therefore, spectral data can be collected a short time (1 ms) after the laser radiation pulse has ended.

[0013] 3. Aiming beam "off" or at a low enough intensity that an optical filter effectively reduces or minimizes any distortion to the spectral contour due to the aiming beam. The effect of a flickering aiming beam can be avoided in the measured spectrum, such as by collecting the spectrum between aiming beam pulses.

[0014] Aiming beams can pose signal detection challenges across the range of wavelengths of interest (spectral spread) in spectroscopic analyses. This is because the aiming beam can have a greater optical intensity than the response signal of interest that can be reflected, scattered, or emitted from the target object. This can result in an undesirable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the return or response signal from the target when the aiming beam is emitted. For example, signals from the aiming beam can potentially "swamp out," interfere with, or override the response signal of interest from the target, especially if the response signal from the target falls within the same visible spectrum as the aiming beam. This disclosure provides examples of approaches for improving signal detection for spectroscopic analyses and the like by helping to reduce, lower, or eliminate the influence, interference, or "noise" from the aiming beam, which can significantly improve the quality of the signal detected from the target.

[0015] The system for detecting a spectroscopic signal can include a spectrometer, a light source emitter configurable to emit a first signal toward the object, a collimated light source emitter configurable to emit a second signal having the visible spectrum toward the object, and a first optical component for attenuating or removing noise associated with the second signal from a third signal returning from the object to the spectrometer. The third signal from the object can be a reflected signal, a scattered signal (e.g., via RAMAN scattering), a fluorescent emission, etc.

[0016] In one example, the spectrometer can be coupled to the surgical fiber, such as attached to or communicatively coupled to the surgical fiber, and the first optical component can be located in a first signal path between the surgical fiber and the spectrometer. The first optical component can be a filter or polarizer and can be located anywhere in the first signal path, such as at the interface between the surgical fiber and the spectrometer, or any other desired location. Alternatively, the first optical component can be located in a second signal path between the aiming light source emitter and the surgical fiber or spectrometer, or in the optical path between the object and the spectrometer.

[0017] The system may additionally include a second optical component for attenuating or eliminating noise associated with at least one of the second signal or the third signal. The second optical component may be located in the first signal path or the second signal path, and may include a filter or polarizer. Thus, the system may include one or more optical components, such as a filter or polarizer. The optical component may be located in the signal path between the surgical fiber and the spectrometer, between the aiming light source emitter and the surgical fiber or spectrometer, and / or in the optical path between the object and the spectrometer. The system may include as many optical components as desired located in any signal path or optical path desired to attenuate or eliminate noise associated with the second signal.

[0018] The system may further include a controller coupled to the light source emitter, the aiming light source emitter, and / or the spectrometer. The controller may be configurable to pulse the aiming light source on and off, and the spectrometer may be configured to collect or analyze at least one of the first signal or the third signal when the aiming light source is pulsed off. Additionally, or alternatively, the spectrometer may be configured to collect or analyze the first signal and / or the third signal when the second signal (i.e., the aiming light source) is pulsed off. The controller may be further configured to control the operation of the light source emitter and / or the spectrometer.

[0019] The controller or spectrometer can further be configured to pulse the aiming light source to cause or allow a change in the wavelength of light emitted from the aiming light source (first wavelength) to occur to a different wavelength (second wavelength). If the aiming light source is emitting at the second wavelength, the spectrometer can analyze the first signal and / or a third signal from the object in response to the second signal at the second wavelength. For example, the aiming light source can be pulsed from a wavelength in the visible spectrum to a wavelength in the invisible spectrum, and the spectrometer can analyze the first signal and / or the third signal when the light source is emitting in the invisible spectrum. It should be understood that the terms light source and light source emitter can be used interchangeably throughout this disclosure. Similarly, the terms aiming light source, aiming beam radiation source, and aiming light source emitter can be used interchangeably. Although otherwise noted, the terms light source and light source emitter are understood to refer to the same component, and aiming light source, aiming beam radiation source, and aiming light source emitter are understood to refer to the same component regardless of whether the term emitter is included.

[0020] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a location for placement of one or more optical components within a laser system 100. The laser system 100 can be coupled to an endoscope system, such as an in-vivo insertable therapeutic or diagnostic endoscope system, to perform patient diagnosis or treatment. Details regarding how the laser system 100 can be connected to an endoscope system can be found in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013 / 0129994, the contents of which are incorporated in their entirety. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a first optical component 102, such as a laser filter or polarizer, can be positioned at the output of an aiming beam radiation source (e.g., a laser diode) 116 in the signal path of an aiming beam 104. The system can also include a light source 118 (e.g., a laser module or component) capable of emitting a signal, such as laser radiation, in the visible or invisible spectrum to ablate tissue, break up stones (e.g., kidney stones or gallstones), or perform any suitable therapeutic or diagnostic procedure. The first optical component 102 can be at least equal to or slightly larger than the diameter of the aiming beam 104. The first optical component 102 can eliminate noise sources (eg, spectral spreading of the main frequency / wavelength of the aiming beam 104) that can significantly improve the signal detected from the object 106.

[0021] 1 , the signal emitted from the aiming beam source 116 may be filtered, attenuated, blocked, polarized, or otherwise affected by the first optical component 102, such that only signals of a desired wavelength and intensity are emitted from the surgical fiber 108 and reach the object 106. In one example, at least a portion of the signal emitted from the surgical fiber 108 may be reflected back from the object 106 (as indicated by the arrows). The laser system 100 may additionally include one or more additional optical components (e.g., a second optical component), such as one or more notched filters 110 and 112 (or any suitable filters) positioned in the optical path between the object 106 and a spectrometer positioned in the feedback box 114. The notched filters 110 and 112 may be used to remove any reflected signals reflected back from the object 106 having frequencies or wavelengths around, near, or substantially near, those of the aiming beam 104.

[0022] In one example, because the intensity of the aiming beam 104 may be a greater indicator of the signal (e.g., spectroscopic signal) from the object, the width of the high attenuation wavelengths of the notched filters 110 and 112 (or any suitable filter) may be greater than the full width at half maximum (FWHM) specification of the aiming beam radiation source 116. Thus, even an apparently steep wavelength rise provided by the first optical component 102 or directly from the illumination beam radiation source 116 may have an unacceptable level of interference at the end of the radiation pulse or at the first optical component 102.

[0023] Additionally or alternatively, the first optical component 102 (not shown) and / or one or more third optical components 120, 122 (e.g., lenses) placed at or near the output of the aiming beam 104 as it passes through the optical path between the object 106 and the spectrometer in the feedback box 114 may be coated with a suitable material to provide, replace or enhance the filtering effect provided by the first optical component 102 and / or the notched filters 110, 112.

[0024] Additionally, as discussed above, any of the first optical component 102, the second optical component 120, and / or the third optical component 122 can be a polarizer, which can be used to improve spectroscopic analysis. In another example, a polarizer can be used in place of or in conjunction with other optical components, such as a filter. In one example, one or more additional optical components 124, 126 can be used to help or assist in guiding the aiming beam 104. For example, the first additional optical component 124 can be placed in front of the aiming beam radiation source 116, which can be a laser diode or light-emitting diode (LED), to help guide the aiming beam 104 in a first direction (e.g., horizontally or in the "x" direction). Similarly, the second additional optical component 126 can be placed near a VIS lens 128 (or any lens optimized to operate within the visible spectrum of light or the 400-700 nanometer (nm) range) to guide the beam in a direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction (e.g., vertically or in the "y" direction). The second additional optical component 126 can therefore block the aiming beam, so that the optical feedback signal from the object can be transmitted to the spectrometer in the feedback box 114 through the VIS optical port.

[0025] The laser radiation emitted from the light source 118 may have the same or a different wavelength or frequency as the aiming beam 104 emitted from the aiming beam radiation source 116. Any of the optical components discussed above may be used to block, attenuate, redirect, etc., a portion of the laser radiation associated with the radiation beam 104 that is either emitted from the aiming beam radiation source 116 or returned from the subject 106 during the medical procedure.

[0026] The frequency associated with the specifications of any of the optical components, such as the first optical component 102, the notched filters 110, 112, etc., can depend on the wavelength of the illumination beam 104. The wavelength of the illumination beam 104 may drift or change by an amount such as 1-2 nanometers due to external factors (e.g., temperature), and therefore, one or more optical components can be selected to account for such drift. For example, one or more of the optical components can be selected to have a wavelength range or spread, such as a 10 nm range, to account for the wavelength drift of the illumination beam 104. Additionally or alternatively, optical components, such as laser filters, can be selected to be optimized for the particular aiming beam radiation source 116 (e.g., illumination beam laser diode) being used. For example, one or more cutoff frequencies of the optical components can be based on the wavelength of the illumination beam radiation source 116 to cut off frequencies corresponding to the illumination beam wavelength. The various optical components and filters discussed above can be contained within an optically impenetrable housing that can be coupled to an internal laser fiber 130, which can then be coupled to the light source 118, surgical fiber 108 and / or feedback box 114.

[0027] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of portions of a laser system 200. The laser system 200 can include a laser fiber 202 that can be housed or carried within a light-absorbing housing. FIG. 2 illustrates the system 200 including optical components that can be the same or similar to those illustrated and discussed above with respect to FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, the laser fiber 202 can be coupled to a housing 204 that can house certain of the optical components. The housing 204 can be configured to absorb light reflected by optical components housed therein, such as a reflector 206. For example, the housing 204 coupled to the internal laser fiber 202 can be formed from or coated with a material that can substantially absorb (e.g., not reflect) light of a particular wavelength or range of wavelengths contained therein (e.g., 90%, or in some embodiments, 80%) from the illumination beam 208. In one example, the reflector 206 can perform the same or similar function as the second additional optical component 126 described in FIG. 1, particularly for guiding light from the illumination beam 208. The reflector 206 can guide light in a direction toward the housing 204 (as indicated by the pointed arrow from the illumination beam 208 toward the housing 204). Thus, light from the aiming beam 208 (and / or reflections from the object) and light guided by the reflector 206 toward the housing 204 can be absorbed by the housing 204 in this embodiment. This can effectively at least partially block stray light from the aiming beam 208 and / or reflections from the object, reducing or lowering its amount before it reaches the spectrometer 210.

[0028] FIG. 3 shows an example graph 300 of aiming beam intensity versus time for a flashing mode. As shown in the example of FIG. 3, the aiming beam pulses can be adjusted to mitigate or reduce their impact on the signal returned from the object (e.g., a spectroscopic signal or other signal of interest analyzed by the spectrometer). In one example, the laser diode of the aiming beam can be switched on and off very rapidly, and the spectrometer can collect data while the aiming beam is switched off and review or analyze the data when the beam is switched back on. For example, the aiming beam can be switched off for a period of time, such as about 250 ms, during which time spectroscopic data can be collected. The aiming beam can be switched back on for another period of time, such as 0.5 seconds, allowing the spectrometer to review and analyze the data. These steps can be repeated until a sufficient amount of data is collected to analyze the object's characteristics or until the medical procedure is completed. The aiming beam can be pulsed periodically, repeatedly, or at any desired interval. The interval can be determined and controlled by a controller or any similar component connected or coupled to the aiming beam radiation source. While Figure 3 shows an example of an aiming beam being pulsed off for 250 ms, the pulses can occur at a faster rate, such as 10-20 ms, or at a slower rate as desired or appropriate for the medical procedure being performed. In one example, the spectral collection time can be shortened or adjusted if there are residual optical effects from the aiming beam or laser radiation pulse. For example, spectral radiation resulting from thermal degradation may take time to decay after the end of the pulse. To avoid capturing that phenomenon in the spectrum, the spectral response collection can be triggered after a short delay after the end of the pulse. Also, while spectra can be collected between pulses of the aiming beam, such spectra can also be collected during pulses from any source (e.g., between laser radiation pulses, LED source pulses, etc.).

[0029] 4 shows an exemplary diagram of a method 400 for spectroscopic signal detection during an in-vivo insertable medical procedure. Method 400 may include or consist of several operations or steps (402-412). These operations are exemplary, and the method performed may omit one or more of the listed operations, repeat operations, include other operations, or perform operations simultaneously, near simultaneously, or in any order as appropriate or desirable.

[0030] At 402, a first signal can be emitted from a light source toward an object. The object can be an object such as a kidney or gallstone, a tumor, a piece of tissue, or any similar object within a patient's body during an in vivo insertable medical procedure. The light source can be laser light, such as emitted from a laser diode, which can be a therapeutic laser (e.g., an ablation laser) used during the medical procedure. The light source can be an endoscopic light source, such as an LED, and as discussed above, the laser system can be coupled, attached, or connected to the endoscope.

[0031] At 404, a second signal can be emitted from an aiming beam source toward the object. The aiming beam can be visible light radiation from a visible light radiation source, such as a laser diode or LED, that can provide spatial information of the treatment laser during or before it is emitted. The spatial information can include a diameter of the treatment laser, a radius of the treatment laser, a cross-sectional area of ​​the treatment laser, a position of the treatment laser, or any desired or suitable dimensions and properties of the treatment laser.

[0032] At 406, a third signal can be received from the object at the spectrometer. The third signal from the object can be a reflected signal, a scattered signal (e.g., via RAMAN scattering), a fluorescent emission, etc. For example, at least a portion of the first signal emitted at 402 and / or the second signal emitted at 404 can be reflected back from the object and can pass through one or more optical components such as those described in FIG. 1 and collected by the spectrometer.

[0033] At 408, the emitted aiming beam signal may be pulsed off for a period of time. A controller or processor coupled or connected to the aiming beam emission source may turn off the aiming beam signal for a period of time (e.g., 10 ms, 20 ms, or any suitable period of time), which may indicate a window of time.

[0034] At 410, when the aiming beam is pulsed off, a third signal can be collected and at 412 can be analyzed using a spectrometer. In one example, during the window of time created when the aiming beam signal is turned off at 408, noise or other contributions from the second signal can be eliminated, eliminated, or reduced during the analysis performed at 410. The third signal can represent a spectroscopic signal, which may be free of any signal associated with the aiming beam, or at least a significantly attenuated signal associated with the aiming beam that allows the third signal to be collected without interference from the second signal. The signal can be analyzed at 412 approximately simultaneously with collection at 410 (during the period when the aiming beam is off), or can be analyzed when the aiming beam is turned on again. Or stated another way, analysis of the third signal can be performed by the spectrometer regardless of whether the aiming beam is currently on or off.

[0035] At 414, at least a portion of the third signal received from the object can be further attenuated or removed. For example, software such as noise reduction software can be used to remove or attenuate portions of the third signal that correspond to, are indicative of, or have the same wavelength as the first signal and / or the second signal (or any other signals that may interfere with the collection of the third signal). This can help ensure that the third signal does not include information specific to the object and not from the light source, the aiming beam, and / or any other signals (e.g., noise) that may interfere with the collection and / or analysis of the third signal.

[0036] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example machine 500 that may perform any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methods) discussed herein. In some embodiments, machine 500 may operate as a stand-alone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. For example, machine 500 may be coupled to or connected to a controller and / or spectrometer to cause the controller or spectrometer to perform one or more of its operations described above. In a networked arrangement, machine 500 may operate in the capacity of a server machine, a client machine, or both in a server-client network environment. In one example, machine 500 may act as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. Machine 500 may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a web appliance, a network router, switch, or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequentially or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Additionally, although only a single machine is illustrated, the term "machine" is also intended to include any collection of machines that individually or collectively execute a set (or sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), other computer cluster configurations, etc.

[0037] Examples such as those described herein may include or operate by logic, or several components or mechanisms. A circuit set is a collection of circuits implemented in a tangible object including hardware (e.g., simple circuits, gates, logic, etc.). Circuit set components may be flexible over time and with respect to underlying hardware variability. A circuit set includes elements that may perform specific operations, either alone or in combination, during operation. In one example, the hardware of a circuit set may be permanently designed to perform specific operations (e.g., wired). In one example, the hardware of a circuit set may include variably connected physical components (e.g., execution units, transistors, simple circuits, etc.) that include computer-readable media that are physically modified (e.g., magnetically or electrically movable arrangements of permanently packed particles, etc.) to encode instructions for specific operations. When connecting physical components, the underlying electrical properties of the hardware components may be changed, for example, from insulator to conductor, or vice versa. The instructions enable embedded hardware (e.g., an execution unit or loading mechanism) to create the circuit set members within the hardware via variable connections to perform certain portions of the operations during operation. Thus, the computer-readable medium is communicatively coupled to other components of the circuit set members when the device is operating. In one example, any of the physical components may be used in more than one member of more than one circuit set. For example, in operation, an execution unit may be used in a first circuit of a first circuit set at one time and reused by a second circuit in the first circuit set or by a third circuit in the second circuit set at a different time.

[0038] The machine (e.g., a computer system) 500 may include a hardware processor 502 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or any combination thereof), a main memory 504, and a static memory 506, some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., a bus) 530. The machine 500 may further include a display unit 510, an alphanumeric input device 512 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 514 (e.g., a mouse). In one example, the display unit 510, the input device 512, and the UI navigation device 514 may be touchscreen displays. The machine 500 may additionally include a storage device (e.g., a drive unit) 508, a signal generating device 518 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 520, and one or more sensors 516, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensors. The machine 500 may include an output controller 528, such as a serial (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB)), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection, to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., printers, card readers, etc.).

[0039] The storage device 508 may include a machine-readable medium 522 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 524 (e.g., software) that embody or are used by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions 524 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 504, within the static memory 506, or within the hardware processor 502 during execution thereof by the machine 500. In one example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 502, the main memory 504, the static memory 506, or the storage device 516 may constitute a machine-readable medium.

[0040] Although the machine-readable medium 522 is illustrated as a single medium, the term "machine-readable medium" may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions 524.

[0041] The term "machine-readable medium" may include any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by machine 500, causing machine 500 to perform any one or more of the techniques of this disclosure, or capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting examples of machine-readable media may include solid-state memory, and optical and magnetic media. In one example, a dense machine-readable medium comprises a machine-readable medium comprising a plurality of particles having an unchanging (e.g., stationary) mass. Thus, a dense machine-readable medium is not a transitory propagating signal. Specific examples of dense machine-readable media include non-volatile memory such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices, magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

[0042] The instructions 524 may further be transmitted or received over a communications network 526 using a transmission medium via the network interface device 520 utilizing any one of several transport protocols (e.g., Frame Relay, Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.). Exemplary communications networks include local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), packet data networks (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks), plain old telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, the IEEE 802.16 family of standards, the IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In one example, the network interface device 520 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or telephone jacks) or one or more antennas for connecting to the communications network 526. In one example, the network interface device 520 may include multiple antennas for communicating wirelessly using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) technologies. The term "transmission medium" shall be taken to include any intangible medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine 500, including digital or analog communication signals, or other intangible medium for facilitating the communication of such software.

[0043] 6 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary computer-based clinical decision support system (CDSS) 600 configured to determine information or characteristics about an object, such as size, composition, hardness, density, or any similar characteristic or information about the object, based on spectroscopic analysis of signals from the object. The CDSS 600 can include an input interface 602 through which parameters such as surgical fiber size, information about the light source, information about the optical components, and / or information about the scope specific to a patient procedure are provided as input characteristics to an artificial intelligence (AI) model 604, a processor that performs inference operations in which the parameters are applied to the AI ​​model to generate a determination of the object characteristic, and an output interface 608 that can communicate the determined object characteristic to a user, e.g., a clinician.

[0044] The input interface 602 may include a direct data link between the CDSS 600 and one or more medical devices that generate at least some of the input characteristics. For example, the input interface 602 may transmit information about light sources and / or optical components (e.g., the frequency or wavelength of the signal from the light source or aiming beam radiation source, or the cutoff frequency of the optical component) or information about the signal returned from the subject directly to the CDSS 600 during a therapeutic and / or diagnostic medical procedure. In one example, information about the light sources and / or optical components used during the procedure, ranges, etc., can be stored in a database 606. Additionally or alternatively, the input interface 602 may be a traditional user interface that facilitates interaction between a user and the CDSS 600. For example, the input interface 602 may facilitate a user interface through which a user may manually input information about surgical fibers, scopes, optical components, signals to block or allow, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the input interface 602 may provide the CDSS 600 with access to electronic patient records or components used during the procedure, from which one or more input characteristics may be extracted. In any of these cases, the input interface 602 is configured to collect one or more of the following input characteristics regarding one or more of a particular patient, type of medical procedure, type of scope, signals to be blocked during spectroscopic analysis, etc., at or before the time when the CDSS 600 is used to evaluate the input characteristics:

[0045] An example of an input characteristic may include the dimensions of the surgical fiber used during the procedure.

[0046] An example of an input characteristic may include the type of light or laser source.

[0047] An example of an input characteristic may include the type of scope used during the procedure.

[0048] An example of an input characteristic may include wavelengths or frequencies that are blocked or attenuated.

[0049] An example of an input characteristic may include the time to turn off a light or laser source.

[0050] An example of an input characteristic can include signal information of a return signal 612 received by the spectrometer 610 from the object.

[0051] Based on one or more of the above input characteristics, the processor performs an inference operation using the AI ​​model 604 to generate determined characteristics of the object, such as the object's size, the object's composition, hardness, density, or any similar characteristic. For example, the input interface 602 may convey one or more of the above-listed input characteristics into the input layer of the AI ​​model 604, which propagates these input characteristics through the AI ​​model 604 to the output layer. The AI ​​model 604 can provide a computer system with the ability to perform tasks without being explicitly programmed by making inferences based on patterns found in the analysis of data. The AI ​​model 604 utilizes the research and construction of algorithms (e.g., machine learning algorithms) that can learn from existing data and make predictions about new data. Such algorithms operate by building an AI model from example training data to make data-driven predictions or decisions, which are expressed as outputs or evaluations.

[0052] Two examples of modes of machine learning (ML) include supervised ML and unsupervised ML. Supervised ML uses prior knowledge (e.g., examples correlating inputs with outputs or outcomes) to learn relationships between inputs and outputs. The goal of supervised ML is to learn a function that best approximates the relationship between training inputs and outputs, given some training data, so that the ML model can enforce the same relationship when given an input to produce a corresponding output. Unsupervised ML is the training of ML algorithms using unclassified or unlabeled information, allowing the algorithm to act on that information without guidance. Unsupervised ML is useful in exploratory analysis because it can automatically identify structure in data.

[0053] Supervised ML tasks can include classification and regression problems. Classification problems, also known as categorization problems, aim to classify items into one of several categorical values ​​(e.g., is this object an apple or an orange?). Regression algorithms aim to quantify some items (e.g., by providing a score for the values ​​of some inputs). Some examples of supervised ML algorithms are logistic regression (LR), naive Bayes, random forest (RF), neural networks (NN), deep neural networks (DNN), matrix factorization, and support vector machines (SVM).

[0054] Some possible tasks for unsupervised ML include clustering, representation learning, and density estimation. Some examples of unsupervised ML algorithms are K-means clustering, principal component analysis, and autoencoders.

[0055] Another type of ML is federated learning (also known as collaborative learning), which trains algorithms across many decentralized devices that maintain local data without exchanging data. This approach contrasts with traditional centralized machine learning techniques, where all local datasets are uploaded to a single server, and more traditional decentralized approaches that often assume that local data samples are identically distributed. Federated learning allows many actors to build a common, robust machine learning model without sharing data, thus addressing critical issues such as data privacy, data security, data access rights, and access to heterogeneous data.

[0056] In some examples, the AI ​​model 604 may be trained continuously or periodically prior to performance of an inference operation by the processor. Then, during the inference operation, patient-specific input characteristics provided to the AI ​​model 604 may be propagated from an input layer, through one or more hidden layers, and ultimately to an output layer corresponding to information about the object. For example, when evaluating a spectroscopic analysis of a signal from the object, the system may determine one or more characteristics of the object.

[0057] During and / or after the inference operation, information about the object can be communicated to a user via output interface 608 (e.g., a user interface (UI)) and / or can cause a surgical laser connected to the processor to automatically take a desired action. For example, based on the composition of the object, the system may cause the surgical laser to emit energy to ablate the object, adjust the amount of ablation energy, move a portion of the scope, etc.

[0058] FIG. 7 shows an example graph 700 of the effect of implementing first, second, and / or third optical components (e.g., lasers and / or notched filters or any suitable filters, optical components with coatings, and / or polarizers) within laser system 100, as described above with respect to the visible feedback spectrum. As shown in FIG. 7, when using laser filter 102 and at least one notched filter 110, 112, improved detection of spectroscopic signals (e.g., RAMAN, fluorescence, or reflectance) can occur substantially even when illumination beam 104 is actively emitting. FIG. 2 shows graphs of the return signal from object 106 when the illumination beam is on (shown as a solid line) and when the illumination beam is off (shown as a dashed line). Thus, using a laser filter and / or notched filter (or any suitable filters, optical components with coatings, and / or polarizers discussed above) results in the curvature experienced when the illumination beam is on significantly overlapping with the curvature experienced when the illumination beam is off. Thus, as shown in FIG. 7, using the optical components described above can help minimize or reduce the interference effects (e.g., noise) of the aiming beam signal in the signal received back from the target 106.

[0059] In one example, the illumination beam 104 may be pulsed, such as pulsed on and off, to allow a spectrometer to collect signals from the object 106 and analyze or measure the collected signals. As noted elsewhere, the illumination beam emitter 116 may be pulsed on and off, causing the illumination beam 104 to "blink," allowing signals from the object 106 to be collected while the illumination beam 104 is off and analyzed by the spectrometer when the illumination beam is on. In such an example, the illumination beam 104 may be pulsed fast enough (e.g., 10-20 millisecond (ms) pulses) that the blinking does not interfere with or distract a surgeon during a medical procedure. In another example, the aiming beam emitter 116 may be pulsed to allow for a change in the wavelength of the illumination beam 104 (e.g., from a first wavelength to a different second wavelength (e.g., from a visible wavelength to a non-visible wavelength)) so that the aiming beam 104 appears to be continuously on but is not optically visible while signals from the object 106 are being collected. In such an example, the optical components discussed above may block or attenuate the signal corresponding to the second wavelength.

[0060] Notes and Examples Example 1 is a system for detecting spectroscopic signals, comprising a spectrometer, a light source emitter configurable to emit a first signal toward an object, a aiming light source emitter configurable to emit a second signal having a visible spectrum toward the object, and a first optical component for attenuating or removing noise associated with the second signal from a third signal returning from the object to the spectrometer in response to the first signal.

[0061] In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 optionally includes: a spectrometer attached to the surgical fiber; and the first optical component includes at least one of a filter or a polarizer disposed in a first signal path between the surgical fiber and the spectrometer.

[0062] In Example 3, the subject matter of Example 2 optionally includes: the first optical component includes at least one of a filter or a polarizer disposed in the second signal path between the aiming light source emitter and at least one of the surgical fiber or the spectrometer.

[0063] In Example 4, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 2-3 optionally includes a second optical component for attenuating or removing noise associated with at least one of the second signal or the third signal, the second optical component being located in at least one of the first signal path between the surgical fiber and the spectrometer or the second signal path between the aiming light source emitter and at least one of the surgical fiber or the spectrometer.

[0064] In Example 5, the subject matter of Example 4 optionally includes, wherein the second optical component includes a filter or a polarizer.

[0065] In Example 6, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1 to 5 optionally includes, wherein the first optical component includes at least one of a filter or a polarizer positioned in an optical path between the object and the spectrometer.

[0066] In Example 7, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-6 optionally includes, wherein the aiming light source emitter includes a laser diode.

[0067] In Example 8, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-7 optionally includes, wherein the light source emitter includes a light emitting diode (LED).

[0068] In Example 9, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-8 optionally includes: a cutoff frequency of the first optical component based on a wavelength of light emitted from the aiming light-source emitter.

[0069] In Example 10, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1 to 9 optionally includes, wherein the system is configured to be coupled to an in vivo insertable therapeutic or diagnostic endoscopy system.

[0070] In Example 11, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-10 optionally includes a controller coupled to the aiming light source emitter, the controller being configurable to pulse the aiming light source on and off, and the spectrometer being configured to collect or analyze at least one of the first signal or the third signal when the aiming light source is pulsed off.

[0071] In Example 12, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-11 optionally includes: the spectrometer is configured to pulse the aiming light-source emitter to enable changing the wavelength of light emitted from the aiming light-source emitter to a different wavelength.

[0072] Example 13 is a system for detecting spectroscopic signals, comprising a spectrometer, a light source emitter configurable to emit a first signal toward an object, an aiming light source emitter configurable to emit a second signal having a visible spectrum toward the object, and a controller coupled to the aiming light source emitter configurable to pulse the aiming light source emitter on and off, wherein the spectrometer is configured to collect or analyze at least one of the first signal or a third signal from the object responsive to the first signal when the aiming light source emitter is pulsed off.

[0073] In Example 14, the subject matter of Example 13 optionally includes, wherein the spectrometer is configured to collect or analyze at least one of the first signal or the third signal when the aiming light source emitter is pulsed on.

[0074] In Example 15, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 13-14 optionally includes: the spectrometer is configured to pulse the aiming light-source emitter to enable changing the wavelength of light emitted from the aiming light-source emitter to a different wavelength.

[0075] Example 16 is a method for spectroscopic signal detection during an in vivo insertable medical procedure, comprising the steps of emitting a first signal from a light source toward an object, emitting a second signal from an aiming beam radiation source toward the object, receiving a third signal from the object with a spectrometer in response to the first signal, pulsing off the aiming beam radiation source for a period of time, collecting the third signal received during the period of time, and analyzing the collected third signal using the spectrometer.

[0076] In Example 17, the subject matter of Example 16 optionally includes attenuating or eliminating a portion of the third signal received from the object.

[0077] In Example 18, the subject matter of Example 17 optionally includes, wherein a portion of the third signal is attenuated or eliminated using at least one optical component in at least one of the first signal path between the surgical fiber and the spectrometer or the second signal path between the aiming beam radiation source and at least one of the surgical fiber or the spectrometer.

[0078] Example 19 is a method for spectroscopic signal detection during an in vivo insertable medical procedure, comprising: emitting a first signal from a light source toward an object; emitting a second signal from an aiming beam radiation source toward the object; receiving a third signal from the object with a spectrometer in response to the first signal; attenuating or removing noise associated with the second signal from the third signal; and analyzing the collected third signal to determine a characteristic of the object.

[0079] In Example 20, the subject matter of Example 19 optionally includes, wherein the attenuated or eliminated noise has substantially the same wavelength as the second signal.

[0080] The above detailed description includes references to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the detailed description. The drawings show, by way of example, specific embodiments that may be practiced. These embodiments are also referred to herein as "examples." Such examples may include elements in addition to those shown or described. However, the inventors also contemplate examples in which only those elements shown or described are provided. Moreover, the inventors also contemplate examples (or one or more aspects thereof) using any combination or variation of these elements as shown or described, either with respect to a particular example (or one or more aspects thereof) or with respect to any other example (or one or more aspects thereof) shown or described herein.

[0081] All publications, patents, and patent documents mentioned in this document are incorporated by reference in their entirety as if individually incorporated by reference. In the event of inconsistent usage between this document and a document so incorporated by reference, the usage in the incorporated reference shall be considered supplemental to this document, and in the event of a non-coexisting conflict, the usage in this document shall control.

[0082] In this document, the terms "a" or "an" are used to include one or more, as is common in patent documents, independently of any other instance or use of "at least one" or "one or more." In this document, the term "or" is used to refer to non-exclusives, or unless otherwise noted, "A or B" includes "A but not B," "B but not A," and "A and B." In the appended claims, the terms "including" and "in which" are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms "comprising" and "wherein." Also, in the following claims, the terms "including" and "comprising" are open-ended, i.e., systems, devices, articles, or processes that include elements in addition to those listed after such terms in the claims are also considered to be within the scope of the claims. Furthermore, in the following claims, terms such as "first," "second," and "third" are used merely as labels and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on articles. [Explanation of symbols]

[0083] 100 Laser System 102 first optical component 104 Aiming Beam 106 Object 108 Surgical Fiber 110 Notched Filter 112 Notch Filter 114 Feedback Box 116 Aiming beam radiation source 118 Light source 120 Third Optical Component 122 Third Optical Component 124 Additional Optical Components 126 Additional Optical Components 128 VIS lens 130 Internal laser fiber 200 Laser System 202 Laser Fiber 204 Housing 206 Reflector 208 Irradiation Beam 210 spectrometer 300 graphs 400 ways 500 machines 502 Hardware Processor 504 main memory 506 static memory 508 Storage Devices 510 Display Unit 512 alphanumeric input device 514 User Interface (UI) Navigation Devices 516 Sensors 518 Signal Generating Device 520 Network Interface Device 522 Machine-Readable Media 524 Data Structures or Instructions 526 Communication Network 528 Output Controller 530 Interlink 600 Computer-Based Clinical Decision Support System 602 Input Interface 604 Artificial Intelligence Model 606 Database 608 Output Interface 610 spectrometer 612 Return signal 700 graphs

Claims

1. A photodetector; a light source emitter configurable to emit a first optical signal toward the object; an aiming light source emitter configurable to emit a second optical signal having a visible spectrum toward the target; a first filter responsive to the first optical signal for attenuating or removing noise associated with the second optical signal from a third signal returning from the object to the photodetector.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a controller configured to analyze at least one characteristic of the third signal to determine one or more characteristics of the object.

3. The controller includes a trained learning algorithm; The system of claim 2 , wherein the trained learning algorithm comprises at least one of an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm or a machine learning (ML) algorithm.

4. The controller determining at least one of a size, composition, hardness or density of the object based on an analysis of at least one characteristic of the third signal; and The system of claim 2 , configured to distinguish the object from surrounding tissue based on an analysis of at least one feature of the third signal.

5. The system described in claim 2, wherein the first filter is an optical filter configured to perform noise filtering in the optical domain.

6. The system described in claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to adjust at least one of the intensity or wavelength of the first optical signal based on one or more determined characteristics of the object.

7. The system described in claim 2, wherein the controller includes a trained learning algorithm configured to utilize one or more patterns in data from the third signal to make one or more data-driven predictions about one or more characteristics of the object.

8. The system described in claim 2, wherein the controller includes a trained learning algorithm configured to perform at least one of a classification task or a regression task to determine one or more features of the object.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to analyze spectral data collected from the third signal when the aiming light source emitter is pulsed off.

10. The controller includes a trained learning algorithm; the controller is configured to pulse the aiming light source emitter on and off; 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the trained learning algorithm is configured to use the light detector to collect or analyze at least one of the features of the third signal when the aiming light source emitter is pulsed off to determine one or more features of the object.

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