The various embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to imaging systems and methods of optimizing the same.
Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) is a wide-field, label-free imaging modality that uses differences in optical path length to quantify cellular and sub-cellular structures with nanometer scale sensitivity. Unlike other optical imaging methods used to visualize tissue structures with sub-cellar resolution (e.g., confocal microscopy, multiphoton imaging, and fluorescence microscopy), QPI does not require labels, stains, or complex systems such as high-power lasers. Further, QPI yields unique quantitative biological information related to dry mass which can be used to assess cellular/tissue structure and dynamic activity to study fundamental biological processes, as well as diseases. However, QPI utilizes a transmission-based system which sets important limitations on the thickness and transparency of the samples that can be analyzed with this method. The restriction to a transmissive geometry and thin samples has prevented the use of QPI in many medical/clinical applications, including endoscopic applications. Indeed, achieving quantitative phase contrast through a compact, flexible fiber-based system is highly desirable and could be transformative for many medical applications given QPI’s access to cellular and subcellular structures without labels or dyes.
An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method of determining a desired set of parameters for an imaging system to image a sample. The method can comprise: choosing a first set of parameters for the imaging system; simulating light scattering properties of the sample when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the first set of parameters; determining a first signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the first set of parameters; choosing a second set of parameters for the imaging system; simulating light scattering properties of the sample when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the second set of parameters; determining a second SNR when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the second set of parameters; determining a desired SNR, the desired SNR being the greater of the first SNR and second SNR; and selecting a desired set of parameters, the desired set of parameters being one of the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters corresponding to the desired SNR.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, simulating light scattering properties of the sample when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the first set of parameters and simulating light scattering properties of the sample when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the second set of parameters can each comprise simulating a measurement of the number of photons collected at a detector of the imaging device when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the first and second sets of parameters, respectively.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, simulating light scattering properties of the sample when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the first set of parameters and simulating light scattering properties of the sample when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the second set of parameters can each comprise simulating a measurement of an oblique angle of scattered photons incident a detector of the imaging sample when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the first and second sets of parameters, respectively.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, determining a first SNR and determining a second SNR can each comprise calculating an optical phase transfer function for the imaging system when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the first and second sets of parameters, respectively.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, determining a first SNR and determining a second SNR can each further comprise calculating a slope of the optical transfer functions.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, determining a first SNR and determining a second SNR can each further comprise multiplying the slope of the corresponding optical transfer function by the square root of the number of photons collected at the detector of the imaging device when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the first and second sets of parameters, respectively.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, each of the first set of parameters and second set of parameters can comprise an illumination wavelength.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, each of the first set of parameters and second set of parameters can comprise a lateral separation distance.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, each of the first set of parameters and second set of parameters can comprise an axial separation distance between an MMF and GRIN lens.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, each of the first set of parameters and second set of parameters can comprise a MMF illuminating angle.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, each of the first set of parameters and second set of parameters can comprise a MMF NA.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, the imaging system can be a quantitative oblique back-illumination microscopy (qOBM) system.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, the imaging system can be an endoscopic oblique back illumination imaging system.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method of determining a desired set of parameters for an imaging system to image a sample. The method can comprise: simulating imaging a sample, comprising one or more iterations of: choosing a unique set of parameters for the imaging system; simulating light scattering properties of the sample when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the unique set of parameters; and determining a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the unique set of parameters; determining a desired SNR from the determined SNRs; and selecting a desired set of parameters, the desired set of parameters being the unique set of parameters corresponding to the desired SNR.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, simulating light scattering properties of the sample when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the unique set of parameters can comprise simulating a measurement of the number of photons collected at a detector of the imaging device when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the unique set of parameters.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, simulating light scattering properties of the sample when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the unique set of parameters can comprise simulating a measurement of an oblique angle of scattered photons incident a detector of the imaging sample when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the unique set of parameters.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, determining the SNR can comprise calculating an optical phase transfer function for the imaging system when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the unique set of parameters.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, determining the SNR can further comprise calculating a slope of the optical transfer function.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, determining the SNR can further comprise multiplying the slope of the optical transfer function by the square root of the number of photons collected at the detector of the imaging device when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the unique set of parameters.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, the unique set of parameters can comprise one or more selected from the following: an illumination wavelength; a lateral separation distance; an axial separation distance between an MMF and GRIN lens; a MMF illuminating angle; and a MMF NA.
These and other aspects of the present disclosure are described in the Detailed Description below and the accompanying drawings. Other aspects and features of embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reviewing the following description of specific, exemplary embodiments in concert with the drawings. While features of the present disclosure may be discussed relative to certain embodiments and figures, all embodiments of the present disclosure can include one or more of the features discussed herein. Further, while one or more embodiments may be discussed as having certain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also be used with the various embodiments discussed herein. In similar fashion, while exemplary embodiments may be discussed below as device, system, or method embodiments, it is to be understood that such exemplary embodiments can be implemented in various devices, systems, and methods of the present disclosure.
The following detailed description of specific embodiments of the disclosure will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the disclosure, specific embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should be understood, however, that the disclosure is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities of the embodiments shown in the drawings.
dependence, corresponding to a Poisson noise distribution, while the dashed curve (fitted curve) follows arelation:
The shaded area indicates the measured data ± standard deviation of the four featureless areas.
To facilitate an understanding of the principles and features of the present disclosure, various illustrative embodiments are explained below. The components, steps, and materials described hereinafter as making up various elements of the embodiments disclosed herein are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many suitable components, steps, and materials that would perform the same or similar functions as the components, steps, and materials described herein are intended to be embraced within the scope of the disclosure. Such other components, steps, and materials not described herein can include, but are not limited to, similar components or steps that are developed after development of the embodiments disclosed herein.
To overcome the limitations of QPI discussed above, the inventors recently introduced a technique called quantitative oblique back-illumination microscopy (qOBM), which yields tomographic quantitative phase information of thick scattering samples with epi-illumination. This technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. App. Publication No. 2021/0025818, entitled “Cell Imaging Systems and Methods,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth below.
But there is still a need for a method of determining an optimized set of parameters of the imaging device for a particular sample to be images. Accordingly, disclosed herein is a robust optimization method for use in determining a desired set of parameters for an imaging system. The method can be used to optimize parameters for many different imaging devices, in particular oblique back illumination imaging devices (whether quantitative or not). Additionally, the imaging devices can be free-space, fiber-based (including endoscopic), or other handheld configurations. Though the disclosure is not so limited, below, the various embodiments of the present disclosure are discussed in the context of using a flexible fiber-optic-based qOBM system that can be applied as a handheld device or micro-endoscope for in-vivo imaging. The approaches disclosed herein can enable in silico optimization of the phase signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) over a wide parameter space, including illumination fiber position (axial, lateral and tilt), illumination fiber numerical aperture (NA), and illumination wavelength. Sample specific scattering properties can also be taken into account.
The results provided below show that a proper combination of these parameters can provide for optimal imaging conditions, and that a single imaging device with a specific set of parameters can be optimal for multiple tissue types. Simulations were verified experimentally using tissue-mimicking phantoms. Correction was made for additional noise terms introduced by the fiber system to achieve a phase sensitivity of <20 nm with a single qOBM acquisition and a lower limit of ~ 3 nm using multiple averaged frames. The imaging capabilities of the imaging systems disclosed herein were further validated using fixed rat brain tissues from a 9 L gliosarcoma tumor model and fresh human brain tumor samples obtained directly from neurosurgery. Data show that a fiber-based qOBM system indeed recovers histological cellular information in excellent agreement with our free-space qOBM system (without stains or labels) and with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained tissue sections (after tissue processing). The methods ability to provide parameter sets for an imaging device to deliver quantitative phase contrast through a flexible fiber-based probe can be transformative for many biomedical applications, including micro-endoscopy, surgical guidance, and more. Further, the in silico optimization approach disclosed herein-which would be extremely cumbersome to perform experimentally-can be widely applied for facile optimizations of other OBM/qOBM configurations in arbitrary environments.
As shown in
The method can further comprise simulating light scattering properties of the sample when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the first set of parameters 1010. In some embodiments, simulating the light scattering properties of the sample 1010 can comprise simulating a measurement of the number of photons collected at a detector of the imaging device when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the first set of parameters. In some embodiments, simulating the light scattering properties of the sample 1010 can further/alternatively comprise simulating a measurement of an oblique angle of scattered photons incident a detector of the imaging sample when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the first set of parameters.
The method can further comprise determining a first signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the first set of parameters 1015. Details on an exemplary method of calculating the optical transfer function are discussed below. In some embodiments, determining a first SNR 1015 can comprise calculating an optical phase transfer function for the imaging system when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the first and second sets of parameters. In some embodiments, determining a first SNR 1015 can further comprise calculating a slope of the optical transfer functions. The slope can represent an estimate of the phase sensitivity of the imaging system when imaging using the first set of parameters. In addition to or alternatively to calculating the slope of the optical transfer function, in some embodiments, determining the first SNR 1015 can include calculating an energy of the transfer function and/or calculating the maximum and/or minimum values of the optical transfer functions. In some embodiments, determining a first SNR 1015 can further comprise multiplying the slope of the corresponding optical transfer function by the square root of the number of photons collected at the detector of the imaging device when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the first set of parameters. In some embodiments, calculating a SNR 1015 can be calculating a relative SNR. In some embodiments, calculating a relative SNR can comprise multiplying the signal (e.g., product of the number of detected photons and phase sensitivity, which can be estimated a number of ways) divided by the noise (e.g., square root of the number of detected photons).
The steps of choosing a first set of parameters for the imaging system 1005, simulating light scattering properties of the sample when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the first set of parameters 1010, and determining a first signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) when imaging the sample using the imaging system having the first set of parameters 1015, can be repeated one or more times using another chosen set of parameters for the imaging system different than the first set of parameters. Thus, the method allows many combinations of the various parameters to be simulated. For example, as shown in
Once the SNR has been estimated for each desired set of parameters for the imaging device when imaging the sample, the method 1000 can further comprise determining a desired SNR 1035. The desired SNR can be chosen from the SNRs previously determined (e.g., the first and second SNRs, among others). For example, in some embodiments, the desired SNR can be the greater of the first SNR and second SNR. In some embodiments can be any SNR that is above a particular threshold.
The method 1000 can further comprise selecting a desired set of parameters 1040. The desired set of parameters can be the parameters corresponding to the desired SNR. For example, if the desired SNR is the first SNR, then the desired set of parameters can be first set of parameters.
In some embodiments, the method 1000 can further comprise providing an imaging device with the desired set of parameters.
As shown in
Experimental apparatus: A schematic of an experimental setup is shown in
Image Processing: To retrieve quantitative phase information with qOBM, four raw intensity images can be captured, one from each LED. From the two pairs of opposed illuminations, two orthogonal differential phase contrast (DPC) images are computed via:
where I+ and I_ are intensity images from opposed illuminations, and the denominator (I+ + I_) serves as a self-normalization term. Note that the subtraction process, along with the highly incoherent illumination of multiply-scattered LED photons, enables tomographic cross-sectioning. The qualitative DPC images can be quantified with knowledge of the angular distribution of photons at the focal plane. To quantitatively model the process within a thick scattering sample, photon propagation can be numerically simulated using a Monte Carlo method. Photons are initiated at angles within the illuminating MMF NA and propagated through a stochastic scattering process given by the scattering and absorption properties of media (e.g., heterogeneous brain tissues, as in
where cδ is the point spread function, given by the Fourier transform of the 2D optical phase transfer function; cδ is purely imaginary given the transfer function is odd, thus the operator Im{} takes the imaginary part; Φ is the quantitative phase; and the asterisk denotes a convolution operation.
Next,
Imaging System Design Optimization Framework: To optimize the probe performance, several parameters can be considered for optimization, including the illumination wavelength, lateral separation distance (DL) and axial separation distance (DA) between MMF and the GRIN lens (see
To analyze the impact of these parameters on the probe performance, both phase sensitivity and photon detection efficiency can be taken into account to estimate the SNR of the phase measurement. Phase sensitivity can be proportional to the central slope m of the optical phase transfer function (see inset of
Wavelength-Dependent Optimization Factors: The illuminating wavelengths affect the imaging quality.
Another wavelength-dependent factor that affects the SNR is the wavelength-dependent photon detection efficiency. The most influential factor in our setup is the quantum efficiency (QE) of the camera (pco.edge 4.2 LT, inset curve in
Geometrical Optimization Factors: Probe/imaging device geometrical factors also affect SNR, including lateral and axial separation distances (DL and DA, respectively, as in
We begin with an analysis of SNR as a function of DL and DA using a constant 0.5 NA fiber without tilting the illumination MMF angle. SNR results are plotted in
As shown in the insets of
All four tissue types simulated here (white matter, grey matter, epidermis, breast tissue) form an optimal peninsula-shaped high-SNR region with slightly different shapes and optimal regions. However, optimal regions for these tissues do show substantial overlap. This indicates that a single probe/imaging device geometry can be produced with fairly optimal conditions for a wide variety of biological specimens. However, given that optimal regions can be narrow and not necessarily in intuitive configurations, this type of analysis may be warranted when optimizing probes for use in tissues with different optical properties.
The SNR dependence with MMF illumination angle and NA can now be considered, with varying separation distances DA and DL. Note that, in practice, manipulating the fiber angle in the probe design may be more difficult than changing the axial and lateral separation distances. Keeping the fiber angle at zero degrees (parallel to GRIN lens) provides the simplest geometrical configuration, with the least chance of breaking a fiber. If fiber polishing is used to alter the initial illumination angle, the available angular range can be quite limited (~0 to 15 degrees) due to total internal reflections. Similarly, there are few options to fine tune the fiber NA, with 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 NAs being the most common commercially available options. Nevertheless, it is still instructive to show how these factors influence the SNR. Given the large parameter space, only simulated imaging conditions in grey matter are shown, but the same approach can be readily implemented for other tissue types (indeed white matter, epidermis and breast tissues show similar behavior).
The first row of
These results demonstrate that designing the probe and finding its optimal operation can be done by understanding of a wide parameter space and the physics behind the photon ensemble distribution inside thick samples. Experimentally performing this optimization can be cumbersome and could lead to less than optimal designs. Geometry② shows fairly optimal performance over the large parameter space considered here.
Experimental Validations Using Tissue Mimicking Scattering Phantoms: Simulations were verified experimentally using scattering phantoms that mimic brain white and grey matter. The scattering phantoms used polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) (Dow, Sylgard 184, with a 10:1 curing agent ratio) as the substrate, titanium dioxide (TiO2, Atlantic Equipment Engineers, Ti-602) as the scattering agent, and India ink (Pro Art, PRO-4100) as the absorbing agent. The concentration of TiO2 was set to 3.94 g/L for white matter and 1.57 g/L for grey matter, while the concentration of the India ink was 0.218 g/L for both (the absorption coefficients of white and grey matter are approximately equal at 720 nm). On top of these scattering phantoms, 10 µm polystyrene beads were placed in water which serve as the phase target to image.
Three probes were fabricated with different lateral and axial separations (DL, DA), namely, geometry①: (2 mm, 0 mm), geometry①: (2.5 mm, 4 mm), and geometry①: (2.5 mm, 6 mm) as marked in red circles in
As
The SNR as a function of fiber illumination angle at multiple axial separation distances was experimentally measured (
Below, geometry② was adopted because this configuration achieves optimal conditions (i.e., highest SNR) for white and grey matter (as well as other tissue types) as shown in
Characterization of Imaging System Phase Sensitivity: The phase sensitivity of the imaging system can be quantified using a photo-lithographic quartz target consisting of letters of different heights (“OIS”: 300 nm, “LAB”: 200 nm, and “GT EMORY BME”: 100 nm). In this case, a 1% intralipid agar phantom was used as the scattering medium below the phase target (this mimics previous experimental conditions to assess sensitivity and permits direct comparison to the free-space qOBM system). As shown in
Lastly, it was explored how averaging multiple frames helps to mitigate noise and improve the phase sensitivity. The phase sensitivity in
Poisson-noise distribution (dotted green line). However, after averaging more than ~10 frames, the sensitivity improvement slows down and begins to deviate from the expected shot noise behavior. This deviation was designated to persistent noise from the fiber bundle that is not completely eliminated by the background subtraction correction. By fitting the data to a slightly different model following
with α being a proportionally constant and β a lower sensitivity limit set by the fiber bundle, a much better fit (dashed line within the shaded line) was obtained. It was found that β = 3.05 nm, which effectively represents the best-case-scenario sensitivity (when large averaging can be tolerated). It is likely that different fiber-bundles could show different lower sensitivity limit coefficients (β). By averaging 70 frames, the probe sensitivity was ~0.05 rad or ~5.4 nm, which was comparable to our previous free-space qOBM system’s sensitivity.
Finally, it was considered how the power stability of the light source (LEDs) can lead to noise in the measured phase value. To estimate the effect, a power meter (Thorlabs, PM100D) was used to measure the delivered LED power from one single illumination fiber. Its standard deviation was ~0.030 mW or ~0.1% power fluctuations over a period of 3 minutes. The impact of the power instability on the measured phase can be analyzed by investigating at measured phase values from single-pixels over time. In
Imaging System Validation Using Fixed Rat Brain and Freshly Excised Human Brain Tumor Samples: To demonstrate the imaging capability of the fiber-based qOBM system on biological samples, formalin-fixed, excised rat brain samples from a 9 L gliosarcoma rat tumor model were measured.
As a final demonstration of the capabilities of the fiber-based probe, qOBM images of freshly excised human brain tumor samples (astrocytomas) discarded from neurosurgery were acquired. For comparison, qOBM images using our free-space qOBM system were also acquired. After imaging with qOBM, samples were furthered processed for histology to obtain the “gold-standard” H&E-stained bright-field images for comparison.
Measurements are shown in
A peripheral interface, for example, may include the hardware, firmware and/or software that enable(s) communication with various peripheral devices, such as media drives (e.g., magnetic disk, solid state, or optical disk drives), other processing devices, or any other input source used in connection with the disclosed technology. In some embodiments, a peripheral interface may include a serial port, a parallel port, a general-purpose input and output (GPIO) port, a game port, a universal serial bus (USB), a micro-USB port, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port, a video port, an audio port, a Bluetooth ™ port, a near-field communication (NFC) port, another like communication interface, or any combination thereof.
In some embodiments, a transceiver may be configured to communicate with compatible devices and ID tags when they are within a predetermined range. A transceiver may be compatible with one or more of: radio-frequency identification (RFID), near-field communication (NFC), Bluetooth ™, low-energy Bluetooth ™ (BLE), WiFi™, ZigBee™, ambient backscatter communications (ABC) protocols or similar technologies.
A mobile network interface may provide access to a cellular network, the Internet, or another wide-area or local area network. In some embodiments, a mobile network interface may include hardware, firmware, and/or software that allow(s) the processor(s) 222 to communicate with other devices via wired or wireless networks, whether local or wide area, private or public, as known in the art. A power source may be configured to provide an appropriate alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) to power components.
The processor 222 may include one or more of a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, co-processor or the like or combinations thereof capable of executing stored instructions and operating upon stored data. The memory 230 may include, in some implementations, one or more suitable types of memory (e.g. such as volatile or non-volatile memory, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash memory, a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), and the like), for storing files including an operating system, application programs (including, for example, a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine, and or other applications, as necessary), executable instructions and data. In one embodiment, the processing techniques described herein may be implemented as a combination of executable instructions and data stored within the memory 230.
The processor 222 may be one or more known processing devices, such as, but not limited to, a microprocessor from the Pentium™ family manufactured by Intel™ or the Turion ™ family manufactured by AMD™. The processor 222 may constitute a single core or multiple core processor that executes parallel processes simultaneously. For example, the processor 222 may be a single core processor that is configured with virtual processing technologies. In certain embodiments, the processor 222 may use logical processors to simultaneously execute and control multiple processes. The processor 222 may implement virtual machine technologies, or other similar known technologies to provide the ability to execute, control, run, manipulate, store, etc. multiple software processes, applications, programs, etc. The processor 222 may also comprise multiple processors, each of which is configured to implement one or more features/steps of the disclosed technology. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that other types of processor arrangements could be implemented that provide for the capabilities disclosed herein.
In accordance with certain example implementations of the disclosed technology, the computing device 220 may include one or more storage devices configured to store information used by the processor 222 (or other components) to perform certain functions related to the disclosed embodiments. In one example, the computing device 220 may include the memory 230 that includes instructions to enable the processor 222 to execute one or more applications, such as server applications, network communication processes, and any other type of application or software known to be available on computer systems. Alternatively, the instructions, application programs, etc. may be stored in an external storage or available from a memory over a network. The one or more storage devices may be a volatile or non-volatile, magnetic, semiconductor, tape, optical, removable, non-removable, or other type of storage device or tangible computer-readable medium.
In one embodiment, the computing device 220 may include a memory 230 that includes instructions that, when executed by the processor 222, perform one or more processes consistent with the functionalities disclosed herein. Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture consistent with disclosed embodiments are not limited to separate programs or computers configured to perform dedicated tasks. For example, the computing device 220 may include the memory 230 that may include one or more programs 236 to perform one or more functions of the disclosed embodiments.
The processor 222 may execute one or more programs located remotely from the computing device 220. For example, the computing device 220 may access one or more remote programs that, when executed, perform functions related to disclosed embodiments.
The memory 230 may include one or more memory devices that store data and instructions used to perform one or more features of the disclosed embodiments. The memory 230 may also include any combination of one or more databases controlled by memory controller devices (e.g., server(s), etc.) or software, such as document management systems, Microsoft™ SQL databases, SharePoint™ databases, Oracle™ databases, Sybase™ databases, or other relational or non-relational databases. The memory 230 may include software components that, when executed by the processor 222, perform one or more processes consistent with the disclosed embodiments. In some examples, the memory 230 may include a database 234 configured to store various data described herein. For example, the database 234 can be configured to store the software repository 102 or data generated by the repository intent model 104 such as synopses of the computer instructions stored in the software repository 102, inputs received from a user (e.g., responses to questions or edits made to synopses), or other data that can be used to train the repository intent model 104.
The computing device 220 may also be communicatively connected to one or more memory devices (e.g., databases) locally or through a network. The remote memory devices may be configured to store information and may be accessed and/or managed by the computing device 220. By way of example, the remote memory devices may be document management systems, Microsoft™ SQL database, SharePoint™ databases, Oracl™ databases, Sybase™ databases, or other relational or non-relational databases. Systems and methods consistent with disclosed embodiments, however, are not limited to separate databases or even to the use of a database.
The computing device 220 may also include one or more I/O devices 224 that may comprise one or more user interfaces 226 for receiving signals or input from devices and providing signals or output to one or more devices that allow data to be received and/or transmitted by the computing device 220. For example, the computing device 220 may include interface components, which may provide interfaces to one or more input devices, such as one or more keyboards, mouse devices, touch screens, track pads, trackballs, scroll wheels, digital cameras, microphones, sensors, and the like, that enable the computing device 220 to receive data from a user.
In example embodiments of the disclosed technology, the computing device 220 may include any number of hardware and/or software applications that are executed to facilitate any of the operations. The one or more I/O interfaces may be utilized to receive or collect data and/or user instructions from a wide variety of input devices. Received data may be processed by one or more computer processors as desired in various implementations of the disclosed technology and/or stored in one or more memory devices.
While the computing device 220 has been described as one form for implementing the techniques described herein, other, functionally equivalent, techniques may be employed. For example, some or all of the functionality implemented via executable instructions may also be implemented using firmware and/or hardware devices such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic arrays, state machines, etc. Furthermore, other implementations of the computing device 220 may include a greater or lesser number of components than those illustrated
It is to be understood that the embodiments and claims disclosed herein are not limited in their application to the details of construction and arrangement of the components set forth in the description and illustrated in the drawings. Rather, the description and the drawings provide examples of the embodiments envisioned. The embodiments and claims disclosed herein are further capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting the claims.
Accordingly, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which the application and claims are based may be readily utilized as a basis for the design of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the embodiments and claims presented in this application. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions.
Furthermore, the purpose of the foregoing Abstract is to enable the U.S. Pat. and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially including the practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent and legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The Abstract is neither intended to define the claims of the application, nor is it intended to be limiting to the scope of the claims in any way.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63/330,899 filed on 14 Apr. 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth below.
This invention was made with government support under NS117067, and CA223853 awarded by the National Institutes of Health, and 1752011 awarded by the National Science Foundation. The government has certain rights in the invention.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63330899 | Apr 2022 | US |