Afterglow Implant for Arterial Embolization and Intraoperative Imaging

Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) is wildly used in clinical treatments. However, the online monitoring of the thrombosis formation is limited due to the challenges of the direct visualization of embolic agents and the real-time monitoring of dynamic blood flow. Thus, we developed a photochemical afterglow implant with strong afterglow intensity and a long lifetime for embolization and imaging. The liquid pre-implant injected into the abdominal aorta of mice was rapidly transformed into a hydrogel in situ to embolize the blood vessel. The vascular embolism position can be observed by the enhanced afterglow of the fixed implant, and the long lifetime of afterglow can also be used to monitor the effect of embolization. This provides an excellent candidate in bio-imaging to avoid the autofluorescence interference from continuous light excitation. The study suggests the potential usefulness of the implant as an embolic agent in TAE and artery imaging during a surgical procedure.