Design of a portable imager for near-infrared visualization of cutaneous wounds

A portable imager developed for real-time imaging of cutaneous wounds in research settings is described. The imager consists of a high-resolution near-infrared CCD camera capable of detecting both bioluminescence and fluorescence illuminated by an LED ring with a rotatable filter wheel. All external components are integrated into a compact camera attachment. The device is demonstrated to have competitive performance with a commercial animal imaging enclosure box setup in beam uniformity and sensitivity. Specifically, the device was used to visualize the bioluminescence associated with increased reactive oxygen species activity during the wound healing process in a cutaneous wound inflammation model. In addition, this device was employed to observe the fluorescence associated with the activity of matrix metalloproteinases in a mouse lipopolysaccharide-induced infection model. Our results support the use of the portable imager design as a noninvasive and real-time imaging tool to assess the extent of wound inflammation and infection.