Differentiation of biological tissue by hyperspectral imaging using a fibre-coupled light source with high spectral power density

Hyperspectral imaging is gaining importance in many areas of research, industry and medicine. It makes it possible to visualize information almost in real time. In order to realize a measuring station for inverse hyperspectral imaging, a fiber-coupled light source was developed to increase the spectral power density with 40 LEDs with 17 wavelengths in the range from 388 nm to 805 nm. An automated measuring station was developed in which both illumination types, bright field and dark field, as well as the imaging unit were integrated. The automated control of the components of the measuring station makes it possible to record the spectral information of the sample within 15 seconds. A liquid lens is used for this purpose. It enables correction of the focus difference of all wavelengths for a resolution of up to 3.5 μm. Furthermore, the use of a highly sensitive industrial camera without color filters maximizes the spatial resolution. To evaluate the system, a standardized sample and prepared skin, muscle, tendon and bone tissue were examined. With the realized measuring station for inverse hyperspectral imaging and the numerical processing of the resulting image data, cellular structures and features of the biological tissue can be made visible and thus differentiated.