Patent ID: 8344728
Filing Date: 2013-01-01
Classification: A61B,G01N,G01R

Abstract:
1. A medical diagnostic system configured to provide diagnostic information that is indicative of a property of a first region of tissue of an intervertebral disc of a spine of a patient, wherein the property is correlative to discogenic pain, the system comprising: an NMR spectroscopy system that is configured to generate nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic data related to an NMR spectrum from the first region and to provide the NMR spectroscopic data related to the spectrum in a form that is processable; and a processor that is configured to process, based on a set of encoded program instructions executable on the processor, the NMR spectroscopic data provided by the NMR spectroscopy system so as to provide the diagnostic information based at least in part upon an n-Acetyl-related resonance region of the NMR spectrum associated with chondroitan sulfate or a metabolite or degradation product thereof and a lactate-related resonance region of the NMR spectrum.