Topographic mapping of subsurface fluorescent structures in tissue using multiwavelength excitation

Different colors of visible light penetrate to varying depths in tissue due to the wavelength dependence of tissue optical absorption and elastic scattering. We exploit this to map the contour of the closest surface of a buried fluorescent object. This uses a novel algorithm based on the diffusion theory description of light propagation in tissue at each excitation wavelength to derive metrics that define the depth of the top surface of the object. The algorithm was validated using a tissue-simulating phantom. It was then demonstrated in vivo by subsurface brain tumor topography in a rodent model, using the fluorescence signal from protoporphyrin IX that is preferentially synthesized within malignant cells following systemic application of aminolevulinic acid. Comparisons to histomorphometry in the brain post mortem show the spatial accuracy of the technique. This method has potential for fluorescence image-guided tumor surgery, as well as other biomedical and nonbiological applications in subsurface sensing.