SBIR Phase II: 4-Dimensional Optical Tissue Imaging by Variable Digital Illumination

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This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project has as its main objective the development of a mobile physiological optical imaging hardware and software system to empower clinicians with the ability to deploy, capture, assess and distribute standards compliant image data characterizing deep wounds and cardiovascular conditions. The mobile system will allow clinicians to rapidly identify the presence of hidden wound conditions or problematic blood flow patterns thus allowing care facilities to provide more cost effective and informed care to their patients, while minimizing financial losses associated with wound related hospital acquired conditions. The intellectual merit of this project lies in its scientific pursuit to define, develop, and distribute a comprehensive systems platform that will significantly accelerate the deployment of suitable physiological optical imaging solutions into the market. The research includes linking illumination patterns to physiological conditions while implementing mapping transfer functions by way of digital signal processing. The research objectives include system definition, integration, algorithmic optimization, and clinical validations. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to provide substantially affordable noninvasive imaging tools that may be used to assist in treatments that are more accessible to persons in remote areas or those having economic disadvantages. The portable device increases the ability of qualified clinicians to access patient wound care imaging diagnostics remotely, improving quality of care and accessibility to society. Broader commercial benefits include reductions in hospital visits and stays due to more thorough wound assessments and greater accessibility. The mobile system will enable care decisions that are more closely coupled with the state of the underlying tissue and related hemodynamics. It will also allow clinicians and patients to more effectively monitor the benefits of care decisions. The development of the novel and cost-effective optical system to facilitate the imaging of clinically and physiologically meaningful information will fill a void in the medical imaging industry for a point of care solution capable of providing quantitative visualization of physiological processes critical to wound care. The development of the mobile imaging technology will enhance scientific and technological understanding in the areas of optical-tissue image mapping, optoelectronic illumination systems, image processing, clinical applicability and real-time imaging scenarios.