Identification of renal calculi by computerized infrared spectroscopy.

A method is described for the assessment of renal calculi by means of a computerized IR spectrometer. A preliminary reference library of IR spectra of 34 different renal calculi of known composition has been created. The reference library used in the operation of a computerized search program indicates the closest matches in the reference library data with the IR spectrum of an unknown sample. The computerized method of characterizing renal calculi has the advantage that it greatly reduces the likelihood of introducing errors because of operator bias in the subjective interpretation of spectral data.