20090066947 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INTERACTIVE HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGE SUBTRACTION - Disclosed is a method of obtaining a spectral image of each of a plurality of predetermined chemical species in a sample, comprising: (a) illuminating the sample with a first plurality of photons to produce a second plurality of photons; (b) collecting the second plurality of photons and producing a plurality of images of the sample therefrom, each of said images comprising a frame consisting essentially of a plurality of pixels; (c) for each of the predetermined chemical species, identifying at least one wavelength range at which the chemical specie exhibits a unique absorption of radiation; (d) identifying at least one wavelength range at which none of the predetermined chemical species exhibits an absorption of radiation; (e) in each of the image frames, identifying which of the pixels do not contain any of the predetermined chemical species; (f) in each of the image frames, identifying which of the pixels contain only a first the predetermined chemical species; (g) repeating the previous step for each of the predetermined chemical species; (h) in each of the image frames, identifying which of the pixels contain more than one of the predetermined chemical species; (i) for each pixel that contains more than one of the predetermined chemical species, separating the contribution of each predetermined chemical species; and (j) composing separate spectral images of each of the predetermined chemical species in the sample. Also disclosed are apparati for performing these methods, comprising: (a) an illumination source for illuminating the sample with a first plurality of photons to form a second plurality of photons; (b) an optical device for receiving and directing the second plurality of photons to an imaging device; (c) an imaging device for forming a plurality of images of the sample; and (d) a processor in communication with the imaging device. | 03-12-2009 |