Just as software code is not patentable, because there are so many ways to write code that does the same thing, you should be patenting the application, themethod for doing something, not a specific relationship between hardware and software.
The NIR method is highly specific for the detection of different kinds of fatty acids and it is intended to develop a database of fingerprints for different fatty acid components in algal biomass, with which to analyse actual algae.
Initially, patents were used to protect a specific implementation of an invention that was a feature of a new product, a method of making the product, or a new service.