Patent ID: 8958867
Filing Date: 2015-02-17
Classification: A61B,G01N

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method for examining a blood vessel wall comprising: illuminating, with a probe, the blood vessel wall with two or more wavelengths of near-infrared light; receiving, by the probe, reflected near-infrared light from the blood vessel wall; determining, by a computing device, a reflectance spectrum based on the reflected near-infrared light from the blood vessel wall; determining, by the computing device, whether the reflectance spectrum is indicative of a presence of a lipid core plaque (LCP) by applying an LCP classifier to the reflectance spectrum; determining, by the computing device, a thickness of an LCP cap by applying an LCP cap thickness classifier to the reflectance spectrum if the reflectance spectrum is indicative of the presence of the LCP; and displaying, on a display, indicia of the thickness of the LCP cap.