A Multimodal Reflectance Hyperspectral Imaging System for Monitoring Wound Healing in Below Knee Amputations

The multimodal reflectance hyperspectral imaging system presented here was developed in the Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging, at the University of Texas at Arlington, UTA. This system is an extension of the visible hyperspectral imaging prototype developed at the National Institutes of Health, NIH. It uses visible and near-infrared, NIR, light and electro-optical components to obtain spectroscopic images, thereby rendering the name multimodal. The goal of this research plan is to fabricate and utilize this system for monitoring wound healing in below the knee amputations. The system illuminates the amputation area with a cold broadband light source, collects a series of spectroscopic images spanning the visible and NIR, in parallel, deconvolutes the acquisitioned hyperspectral data using chemometric methods for imaging the spatial distribution of inherent chromophores. This technique is non-invasive, eliminates the use of contrast dye injection. The images produced visualize changes in the deeper larger blood vessels, provided by the NIR component and the superficial microvascular capillaries, provided by the visible component.