Masking approach for imaging multi-peak fluorophores by an imaging system

1. A method comprising:

capturing, by a visible light sensor of an imaging system, a visible light image of a subject in which a fluorophore is present, wherein the fluorophore has fluorescence emission in the visible spectrum and in the near-infrared (NIR) spectrum;

capturing, by an NIR sensor of the imaging system, an NIR image of the subject in which the fluorophore is present;

forming, by the imaging system, a combined image of the visible light image and the NIR image, in part by masking pixels of the visible light image with pixels of the NIR image that are associated with the fluorescence emission of the fluorophore in the NIR spectrum; and

providing, by the imaging system, the combined image to an electronic display for display.

2. The method as in claim 1 , further comprising:

illuminating, by an excitation light source of the imaging system, the subject with an excitation light, while capturing the NIR image of the subject.

3. The method as in claim 2 , wherein the excitation light source is a blue laser.

4. The method as in claim 1 , further comprising:

illuminating, by a visible light source of the imaging system, the subject with visible light, while capturing the visible light image.

5. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the fluorophore comprises a tetrapyrrole.

6. The method as in claim 5 , wherein the tetrapyrrole is protoporphyrin (PpIX).

7. The method as in claim 1 , wherein masking the pixels of the visible light image comprises:

masking red pixels of the visible light image with the pixels of the NIR image that are associated with the fluorescence emission of the fluorophore in the NIR spectrum.

8. The method as in claim 7 , wherein the fluorescence emission of the fluorophore in the visible spectrum is in a visible red portion of the visible spectrum.

9. The method as in claim 1 , wherein masking the pixels of the visible light image comprises:

masking blue or green pixels of the visible light image with the pixels of the NIR image that are associated with the fluorescence emission of the fluorophore in the NIR spectrum.

10. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the imaging system is coupled to an endoscope or laparoscope.

11. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the visible light image and NIR image are open surgical images of the subject.

12. An imaging system comprising:

a visible light sensor;

a near-infrared (NIR) sensor; and

a controller coupled to the visible light sensor and the NIR sensor, the controller comprising a processor configured to execute a process and a memory configured to store the process, the process when executed configured to:

capture, by the visible light sensor, a visible light image of a subject in which a fluorophore is present, wherein the fluorophore has fluorescence emissions in the visible spectrum and in the near-infrared (NIR) spectrum;

capture, by the NIR sensor, an NIR image of the subject in which the fluorophore is present;

form a combined image of the visible light image and the NIR image, in part by masking pixels of the visible light image with pixels of the NIR image that are associated with the fluorescence emission of the fluorophore in the NIR spectrum; and

provide the combined image to an electronic display for display.

13. The imaging system as in claim 12 , further comprising:

an excitation light source coupled to the controller that provides excitation illumination to the subject during capture of the NIR image by the NIR sensor.

14. The imaging system as in claim 12 , wherein the fluorophore comprises a tetrapyrrole.

15. The imaging system as in claim 12 , wherein the controller masks the pixels of the visible light image by:

masking red pixels of the visible light image with the pixels of the NIR image that are associated with the fluorescence emission of the fluorophore in the NIR spectrum.

16. The imaging system as in claim 15 , wherein the fluorescence emission of the fluorophore in the visible spectrum is in a visible red portion of the visible spectrum.

17. The imaging system as in claim 12 , wherein the controller masks the pixels of the visible light image by:

masking blue or green pixels of the visible light image with the pixels of the NIR image that are associated with the fluorescence emission of the fluorophore in the NIR spectrum.

18. The imaging system as in claim 12 , further comprising:

an endoscopic or laparoscopic light transmission and collection member coupled to the sensors.

19. The imaging system as in claim 12 , wherein the combined image is a video image.

20. A tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing program instructions that cause an imaging system to execute a process comprising:

capturing, by a visible light sensor of the imaging system, a visible light image of a subject in which a fluorophore is present, wherein the fluorophore has fluorescence emissions in the visible spectrum and in the near-infrared (NIR) spectrum;

capturing, by an NIR sensor of the imaging system, an NIR image of the subject in which the fluorophore is present;

forming, by the imaging system, a combined image of the visible light image and the NIR image, in part by masking pixels of the visible light image with pixels of the NIR image that are associated with the fluorescence emission of the fluorophore in the NIR spectrum; and

providing, by the imaging system, the combined image to an electronic display for display.