Measurement of tissue structures

1. A method of automatically identifying tissue structures in a sample, the method comprising the steps of:

measuring a response of an area of the sample to illumination with light, wherein the sample has a sample area of 1 mm 2 or greater;

identifying regions within the area via unsupervised, automated determination, wherein the identified regions are dependent upon having a measured response within a predetermined range;

generating a spatial correlation map of the sample from the identified regions, the spatial correlation map comprising a plurality of segments;

determining one or more locations within each of the identified regions to establish a sampling pattern for spectroscopic analysis of each segment of the spatial correlation map;

performing spectroscopic analysis of the sample at the one or more determined locations to obtain 1000 or fewer spectra for the sample;

identifying a tissue structure for each region from the spectroscopic analysis performed on one or more locations therein;

producing a coloured image of the sample area specific to the tissue structure identified; and

classifying each segment of the spatial correlation map according to the spectroscopic analysis.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the spectroscopic analysis is performed using vibrational spectroscopy.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the spectroscopic analysis is Raman spectroscopy.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the light the sample is illuminated with is ultraviolet light.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the measured response is a measured value of fluorescence.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the measured fluorescence value is a measure of intensity.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the identified regions have a measured fluorescence value greater than or less than a predetermined threshold value.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the measured fluorescence value is a measure of fluorescence lifetime.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the regions identified within the area have a minimum predetermined size.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the minimum predetermined size is a region having a linear extent of greater than around 100 μm, 50 μm, 20 μm or 10 μm, or a region having an area of greater than around 0.01 mm 2 , 0.0025 mm 2 , 0.0004 mm 2 or 0.0001 mm 2 .

11. The method of claim 1 wherein a particular tissue structure is identified for each region based on matching a spectrum from spectroscopic analysis of one or more locations within each region from a database of spectra for different tissue structures.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the different tissue structures include a tumour.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the different tissue structures include a basal cell carcinoma.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein a number of locations are identified within each region dependent on its size.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein two or more locations are identified within each region.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein one of the identified regions is identified as a particular tissue structure if two or more spectra from spectroscopic analysis taken at locations within the one of the identified regions indicate the same particular tissue structure.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the particular tissue structure is a basal cell carcinoma or another type of tumour.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein one of the identified regions is identified as a particular tissue structure if a majority of spectra from spectroscopic analysis at locations within the one of the identified regions indicate the particular tissue structure.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the locations identified within each region are at least a predetermined distance away from an outer edge of each region.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the predetermined distance is 10 μm, 20 μm or 50 μm.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein each region is identified as dermis, epidermis, basal cell carcinoma or another tissue structure.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein 500 or fewer locations are determined within each of the identified regions.

23. The method of claim 1 wherein 100 or fewer locations are determined within each of the identified regions.

24. An apparatus for automatically identifying tissue structures in a sample, the apparatus comprising:

a sample stage for receiving a sample to be analysed;

a first light source for selectively illuminating an area of the sample;

a first detector for receiving light from the sample upon illumination by the first light source;

a second light source for selectively illuminating a location within the area of the sample; and

a spectral analyser for receiving light from the location within the area of the sample upon illumination by the second light source,

the apparatus being configured to perform a method according to claim 1 .

25. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to cause the computer to:

measure a response of an area of a sample to illumination with light, wherein the sample has a sample area of 1 mm 2 or greater;

identify regions within the area via unsupervised, automated determination wherein the identified regions are dependent upon having a measured response within a predetermined range;

generate a spatial correlation map of the sample from the identified regions, the spatial correlation map comprising a plurality of segments;

determine one or more locations within each of the identified regions to establish a sampling pattern for spectroscopic analysis of each segment of the spatial correlation map;

perform spectroscopic analysis of the sample at the one or more determined locations to obtain 1000 or fewer spectra for the sample;

identify a tissue structure for each region from the spectroscopic analysis performed on one or more locations therein;

produce a coloured image of the sample area specific to the tissue structure identified; and

classify each segment of the spatial correlation map according to the spectroscopic analysis.