Rapid Optical Imaging of Low Frequency Physiologic Processes

Project Goal: Develop a portable, non-invasive skin-imaging system that captures at least 250 frames per second to observe physiological processes in a time frame varying from a few seconds to one minute.

The market lacks products that can track biomarkers, such as hemoglobin, hemosiderin and bilirubin, over long periods of time. Such a product will assist in biomedical research on skin-level processes and may lend itself to improving patient care if integrated into medical devices for non-invasive imaging of the skin.

The Rapid Optical Imaging of Low Frequency Physiologic Processes observes physiological processes that occur between one second and one minute, using 13 types of LEDs to illuminate tissue with specific wavelengths chosen to target particular biomarkers. A custom electronic design operates the LED array. A heat sink dissipates the heat from the power generated by the electronic system and safely prevents thermal damage. The ROIPP rapidly cycles through the 13 biomarker wavelengths, displays a live video feed and efficiently saves the images onto the user's computer.

With this device, the concentration and movement of multiple biomarkers within the human skin can be recorded simultaneously, allowing researchers to recognize patterns in activity.