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Updated: May 11, 2026

Cerenkov Luminescence Imaging of Interscapular Brown Adipose Tissue
Published on: October 7, 2014
Optical imaging as an expansion of nuclear medicine: Cerenkov-based luminescence vs fluorescence-based luminescence
Patrick T K Chin1, Mick M Welling, Stefan C J Meskers
1Interventional Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Integration of optical imaging technologies can further strengthen the field of radioguided surgery. Rather than using two separate chemical entities to achieve this extension, hybrid imaging agents can be used that contain both radionuclear and optical properties. Two types of such hybrid imaging agents are available: (1) hybrid imaging agents generated by Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) of β-emitters and (2) hybrid imaging agents that contain both a radioactive moiety and a fluorescent dye. One major challenge clinicians are now facing is to determine the potential value of these approaches. With this tutorial review we intend to clarify the differences between the two approaches and highlight the clinical potential of hybrid imaging during image-guided surgery applications.
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