US 12,453,487 B2
Systems and methods using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to evaluate pain and degenerative properties of tissue
Sharmila Majumdar, Alameda, CA (US); John Kurhanewicz, South San Francisco, CA (US); Jeffrey C. Lotz, San Mateo, CA (US); David S. Bradford, Sausalito, CA (US); and Kayvan Keshari, Stockton, CA (US)
Assigned to THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, Oakland, CA (US)
Filed by THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, Oakland, CA (US)
Filed on Jul. 9, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/372,103.
Application 17/372,103 is a continuation of application No. 15/866,312, filed on Jan. 9, 2018, granted, now 11,096,603.
Application 15/866,312 is a continuation of application No. 13/680,612, filed on Nov. 19, 2012, granted, now 9,901,285, issued on Feb. 27, 2018.
Application 13/680,612 is a continuation of application No. 11/829,847, filed on Jul. 27, 2007, granted, now 8,344,728, issued on Jan. 1, 2013.
Application 11/829,847 is a continuation in part of application No. PCT/US2006/003036, filed on Jan. 30, 2006.
Claims priority of provisional application 60/737,110, filed on Nov. 15, 2005.
Claims priority of provisional application 60/648,241, filed on Jan. 28, 2005.
Prior Publication US 2022/0142498 A1, May 12, 2022
Int. Cl. A61B 5/00 (2006.01); A61B 5/055 (2006.01); G01N 24/08 (2006.01); G01N 33/68 (2006.01); G01R 33/00 (2006.01); G01R 33/20 (2006.01); G01R 33/44 (2006.01); G01R 33/46 (2006.01); G01R 33/48 (2006.01); G01R 33/483 (2006.01); G01R 33/54 (2006.01); G01R 33/465 (2006.01); G01R 33/485 (2006.01)
CPC A61B 5/055 (2013.01) [A61B 5/4566 (2013.01); A61B 5/4824 (2013.01); G01N 24/08 (2013.01); G01N 33/68 (2013.01); G01R 33/00 (2013.01); G01R 33/20 (2013.01); G01R 33/44 (2013.01); G01R 33/46 (2013.01); G01R 33/4625 (2013.01); G01R 33/48 (2013.01); G01R 33/4828 (2013.01); G01R 33/483 (2013.01); G01R 33/54 (2013.01); A61B 5/4514 (2013.01); A61B 5/4528 (2013.01); G01R 33/465 (2013.01); G01R 33/485 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A medical diagnostic system for providing diagnostic information about a chemical environment in tissue from respective nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra generated and acquired for each of a first region of tissue and a second region of tissue of a patient, the system comprising:
an NMR spectroscopy system in a configuration that is operable to apply a magnetic pulse sequence to induce NMR signals in each of the first and second regions of tissue, and to acquire said NMR signals, to thereby generate first NMR spectroscopic data related to a first NMR spectrum from the first region of tissue and to generate second NMR spectroscopic data related to a second NMR spectrum from the second region of tissue;
a computer processor; and
computer-readable memory storing instructions in the form of a computer readable software program executable by the computer processor, wherein said instructions are configured to, when executed by the computer processor, cause the system to:
process a first spectral region between about 1.31 ppm and about 1.35 ppm of the first NMR spectroscopic data to determine a first spectral value for a first measured spectral parameter;
process a second spectral region between about 1.9 ppm and about 2.1 ppm of the first NMR spectroscopic data to determine a second spectral value for a second measured spectral parameter;
calculate a first property value for a chemical environment in the first region of tissue based on the first spectral value and the second spectral value;
process the first spectral region between about 1.31 ppm and about 1.35 ppm of the second NMR spectroscopic data to determine a third spectral value for a third measured spectral parameter;
process the second spectral region between about 1.9 ppm and about 2.1 ppm of the second NMR spectroscopic data to determine a fourth spectral value for a fourth measured spectral parameter;
calculate a second property value for a chemical environment in the second region of tissue based on the third spectral value and the fourth spectral value;
perform a comparison between the first property value and the second property value to determine a relative difference between the first property value and the second property value;
determine and provide the diagnostic information based at least in part on the relative difference from the comparison, wherein the diagnostic information is correlative to a difference between the chemical environments associated with a medical condition of the respective first and second regions of tissue; and
compare the first or second property value to a graded scale, wherein the diagnostic information is adapted to distinguish between grades of the graded scale.