Anatomical co-registration using spatio-temporal features of a non-contact near-infrared optical scanner

Abstract

Non-contact based near-infrared (NIR) optical imaging devices are developed for non-invasive imaging of deep tissues in various clinical applications. Most of these devices focus on obtaining the spatial information for anatomical co-registration of blood vessels as in sub-surface vein localization applications. In the current study, the anatomical co-registration of blood vessels based on spatio-temporal features was performed using NIR optical imaging without the use of external contrast agents. A 710 nm LED source and a compact CCD camera system were employed during simple cuff (0 to 60 mmHg) experiment in order to acquire the dynamic NIR data from the dorsum of a hand. The spatio-temporal features of dynamic NIR data were extracted from the cuff experimental study to localize vessel according to blood dynamics. The blood vessels shape is currently reconstructed from the dynamic data based on spatio-temporal features. Demonstrating the spatio-temporal feature of blood dynamic imaging using a portable non-contact NIR imaging device without external contrast agents is significant for applications such as peripheral vascular diseases.