Quantitative real-time catheter-based fluorescence molecular imaging in mice

Area of Science:

• Medical imaging
• Optical engineering
• Biomedical optics

Background:

• Quantitative intravital imaging of fluorescent molecular probes is crucial for disease monitoring.
• Existing optical imaging systems often suffer from signal variability due to probe positioning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prospectively evaluate a novel optical imaging system for quantitative, intravital catheter-based imaging.
• To assess the system's ability to perform real-time imaging of fluorescent molecular probes.

Main Methods:

• Developed a fiberoptic catheter imaging system with a normalization algorithm for real-time quantitative near-infrared (NIR) imaging.
• Validated the system using in vitro fluorochrome phantoms and in vivo tumor models in mice.
• Evaluated clinical utility in orthotopically implanted murine colonic adenocarcinomas.

Main Results:

• The corrected NIR signal showed minimal variation (<10% in vitro, <1% in vivo) across different catheter positions.
• The system demonstrated significant distinction (P < .001) between varying fluorochrome concentrations.
• The correction method proved robust for minimally invasive imaging procedures.

Conclusions:

• A method for quantitative, real-time catheter-based fluorescence imaging has been developed and implemented.
• The system effectively resolves NIR signal dependence on catheter position.
• This technology offers improved accuracy for intravital molecular imaging.