Specim Develops Mobile Hyperspectral Camera for High-Level Analysis

Specim Spectral Imaging Ltd., a VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd. spin-off, has developed a hyperspectral camera for fast, high-level analysis of a range of samples.

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland contributed its own expertise to the development project in the form of fast measurement data processing algorithms and methods. The extremely high-precision hyperspectral camera, which resembles a normal digicamera, recognizes materials and their differences from an image and provides results immediately on-site. Such information can be used to detect plant diseases, skin diseases, counterfeit art, faults in food and medicines, or detecting and identifying traces of blood and other samples at crime scenes.

The hyperspectral camera measures the intensity of light in different wavelengths when reflecting off a surface. The measured spectrum reveals the chemical composition of a sample and is thereby a “fingerprint” of a subject's material. In practice, a spectral image can be used to identify the substances and materials in a sample by comparing the spectrum measured with known spectra in a library.

"A high-precision hyperspectral camera can see visible and near-infrared wavelengths of 400 to 1000 nm, whereas the human eye can only see visible wavelengths of 400 to 700 nm,” said Pasi Hyttinen, senior scientist at VTT. “In addition to detecting a wider spectrum, the camera is far superior to the human eye in terms of its wavelength resolution.”

Sample recognition is considerably faster and easier with a lightweight, compact and easy-to-use device than with similar, larger devices. Measurements and results are produced immediately, on-site, without complex mathematical or signal processing skills, whereas the traditional approach involves packing the sample and sending it to a laboratory, from which the result will come in a few days at the earliest.

"A truly portable hyperspectral camera enables measurements previously done in a laboratory to be performed in the field, at sites where imaging was not previously possible,” said Harri Salo, program manager at Specim. “For users, this will markedly accelerate decision making and reduce costs.”

Specim is a manufacturer of hyperspectral imaging instruments such as hyperspectral cameras and systems.