Patent ID: 7167742

Claim:
A method of evaluating the surface of a material that has a distinguishable infrared spectrum comprising: (a) positioning an infrared fiber optic probe to be in contact with a surface of a region of interest of a sample of a material selected from the group consisting of cartilage, ligament, tendon, capsule, bone and teeth, for detecting attenuated total reflectance or within a sufficient distance from the surface of the region for detecting reflection, (b) detecting mid-infrared or near-infrared radiation transmitted via attenuated total reflectance or reflection off of the surface of the sample of the material, (c) analyzing the infrared radiation from step (b) for at least one of peak height, peak area, frequency and chemometric parameters, and (d) actuating a removal device when a signal from the infrared fiber optic probe is between pre-selected values for at least one of peak height, peak area, frequency and chemometric parameters for the sample of the material, to evaluate the surface of the material.