Ingestible device and associated methods

1. A device, comprising:

a spectrometer configured to generate spectral data of gastrointestinal (GI) tract tissue of a subject in vivo; and

a processing unit configured to produce a GI tract tissue health profile for the GI tract tissue based on the spectral data,

wherein the processing unit is configured:

i) to access a plurality of reference spectra corresponding to tissue having a specific health condition or a specific oxygenation level; and

ii) to compare the spectral data with the plurality of reference spectra to determine the health condition of the GI tract tissue, and

wherein the device is an ingestible device and the comparison comprises:

i) comparing a magnitude of one or more spectra produced from the spectral data with a magnitude of each reference spectrum within the plurality of reference spectra; and

ii) identifying the health condition of the GI tract tissue by matching the magnitude of the acquired spectrum to the magnitude of a reference spectrum corresponding to tissue having a specific health condition.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the spectrometer comprises a hyperspectral camera, and the spectral data comprise a hyperspectral image of the GI tract tissue.

3. The device of claim 2 , wherein the hyperspectral camera is configured to use the hyperspectral image to produce one or more spectra corresponding to the tissue.

4. The device of claim 1 , further comprising a communications unit configured to transmit data to and/or receive operating parameters from a base station.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is within the device.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to communicate with a processing unit within a base station that is external to the device.

7. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device and/or the base station comprises memory configured to store the spectral data and/or the GI tract tissue health profile.

8. The device of claim 1 , wherein the specific health condition comprises one or more of normal issue, inflamed tissue, scabbed tissue, and necrotic tissue.

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein the specific health condition comprises a specific oxygenation level of the GI tract tissue.

10. The device of claim 9 , wherein the oxygenation level is from about 1% to about 100%.

11. The device of claim 9 , wherein the comparison comprises:

i) comparing a spectral feature of the one or more spectra with a spectral feature of each reference spectrum within the plurality of reference spectra; and

ii) identifying the oxygenation level of the GI tract tissue by matching the spectral features of the one or more spectra to the spectral features of a reference spectrum corresponding to tissue having a specific oxygenation level.

12. The device of claim 1 , wherein the spectrometer is configured to acquire a spectrum corresponding to a GI tract tissue.

13. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to generate the spectral data at a predetermined region within the GI tract of the subject.

14. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is operable to generate the spectral data at a plurality of time points as the device travels through the GI tract of the subject.

15. The device of claim 1 , wherein the spectrometer is configured to generate at least one member selected from the group consisting of absorbance spectral data, transmission spectral data, reflectance spectral data, Fourier transform spectral data, and Raman spectral data.

16. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device comprises a plurality of spectrometers configured to generate different types of spectral data.

17. The device of claim 1 , wherein the spectrometer comprises a light source and a photodetector positioned on the exterior of the device.

18. The device of claim 1 , wherein the light source is configured to transmit light radially towards an environment external to the device, and the photodetector is configured to detect a radial reflectance from the environment external to the device.

19. The device of claim 1 , wherein the spectral data comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of ultraviolet spectral data, visible spectral data, near-infrared (NIR) spectral data, and mid-infrared (MIR) spectral data.

20. The device of claim 1 , wherein the spectrometer comprises a 2-dimensional array of photodetectors.

21. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device further comprises one or more environmental sensors for measuring environmental data external to the device.

22. The device of claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is configured to identify a location of the device within the GI tract of the subject based on the spectral data.

23. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to attach to the GI tract of the subject in vivo.

24. A method, comprising:

using a spectrometer to generate in situ spectral data of a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of a subject; and

generating a GI tract tissue health profile for the subject based on the in situ spectral data of the GI tract tissue by:

accessing a plurality of reference spectra corresponding to tissue having a specific health condition or a specific oxygenation level; and

comparing the spectral data with the plurality of reference spectra to determine the health condition of the GI tract tissue by:

comparing a magnitude of one or more spectra produced from the spectral data with a magnitude of each reference spectrum within the plurality of reference spectra; and

identifying the health condition of the GI tract tissue by matching the magnitude of the acquired spectrum to the magnitude of a reference spectrum corresponding to tissue having a specific health condition,

wherein the spectral data indicate whether a bleed is present in the GI tract.

25. The method of claim 24 , wherein the spectral data indicate whether hemoglobin and/or a red blood cell is present in the GI tract.

26. The method of claim 24 , wherein the spectral data comprise wavelengths in a range of 400 nm to 680 nm.

27. The method of claim 24 , wherein the spectral data comprise wavelengths in a range of 500 nm to 650 nm.

28. The method of claim 24 , wherein the spectral data comprise wavelengths of 545 nm to 580 nm.

29. The method of claim 24 , the spectral data indicate a concentration of blood in the GI tract of from 0 to 3.5%.

30. A device, comprising:

a spectrometer configured to generate spectral data of gastrointestinal (GI) tract tissue of a subject in vivo; and

a processing unit configured to determine, based on the spectral data, whether blood in meals is present in the GI tract by:

accessing a plurality of reference spectra corresponding to blood in meals being present in the GI tract; and

comparing the spectral data with the plurality of reference spectra to determine blood in meals being present in the GI tract by:

comparing a magnitude of one or more spectra produced from the spectral data with a magnitude of each reference spectrum within the plurality of reference spectra; and

identifying blood in meals being present in the GI tract by matching the magnitude of the acquired spectrum to the magnitude of a reference spectrum corresponding to to blood in meals being present in the GI tract,

wherein the device is an ingestible device.

31. The ingestible device of claim 30 , wherein the processing unit is configured to determine whether hemoglobin is present in the GI tract based on features below 600 nm in the spectral data.

32. The ingestible device of claim 30 , wherein the processing unit is configured to differentiate between oxygenated hemoglobin and deoxygenated hemoglobin based on features of from 600 nm to 1000 nm in the spectral data.

33. A device, comprising:

a spectrometer configured to generate spectral data of gastrointestinal (GI) tract tissue of a subject in vivo; and

a processing unit configured to produce a GI tract tissue health profile for the GI tract tissue based on the spectral data,

wherein the processing unit is configured:

i) to access a plurality of reference spectra corresponding to tissue having a specific health condition or a specific oxygenation level; and

ii) to compare the spectral data with the plurality of reference spectra to determine the health condition of the GI tract tissue, and

wherein the device is an ingestible device and determination of the health condition of the GI tract tissue comprises:

i) determining coefficients of a linear combinations of the plurality of reference spectra that match one or more spectra produced from the spectral data; and

ii) identifying the health condition of the GI tract tissue as a combination of health conditions corresponding to the determined coefficients.

34. A method, comprising:

using a spectrometer to generate in situ spectral data of a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of a subject; and

generating a GI tract tissue health profile for the subject based on the in situ spectral data of the GI tract tissue by:

accessing a plurality of reference spectra corresponding to tissue having a specific health condition or a specific oxygenation level; and

comparing the spectral data with the plurality of reference spectra to determine the health condition of the GI tract tissue by:

determining coefficients of a linear combinations of the plurality of reference spectra that match one or more spectra produced from the spectral data; and

identifying the health condition of the GI tract tissue as a combination of health conditions corresponding to the determined coefficients,

wherein the spectral data indicate whether a bleed is present in the GI tract.

35. A device, comprising:

a spectrometer configured to generate spectral data of gastrointestinal (GI) tract tissue of a subject in vivo; and

a processing unit configured to determine, based on the spectral data, whether blood in meals is present in the GI tract by:

accessing a plurality of reference spectra corresponding to blood in meals being present in the GI tract; and

comparing the spectral data with the plurality of reference spectra to determine blood in meals being present in the GI tract by:

determining coefficients of a linear combinations of the plurality of reference spectra that match one or more spectra produced from the spectral data; and

identifying the health condition of the GI tract tissue as a combination of health conditions corresponding to the determined coefficients,

wherein the device is an ingestible device.