Patent ID: 6421553
Filing Date: 2002-07-16
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
A method for determining a condition of a test specimen, said method comprising,obtaining at least one optical spectrum from a test specimen, said optical spectrum being characterized by (N) quantitative features, each of said (N) quantitative features corresponding to one of (N) pre-selected wavelengths, wherein (N) is an integer greater than 1, determining a first metric between a point in N-dimensional space corresponding to said (N) quantitative features of said optical spectrum from said test specimen and a point in N-dimensional space characteristic of a first constellation of reference data comprising a first plurality of points in N-dimensional space, each of said first plurality of points corresponding to (N) quantitative features of a reference optical spectrum at said (N) pre-selected wavelengths, said first constellation of reference data being representative of a first known condition, determining a second metric between said point in N-dimensional space corresponding to said (N) quantitative features of said optical spectrum from said test specimen and a point in N-dimensional space characteristic of a second constellation of reference data comprising a second plurality of points in N-dimensional space, each of said second plurality of points corresponding to (N) quantitative features of a reference optical spectrum at said (N) pre-selected wavelengths, said second constellation of reference data being representative of a second known condition, and assigning one of said first and said second conditions to said test specimen, based at least in part on a relationship between said first and said second metrics.