Fluorescence lifetime-based sensing in tissues: a computational study
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C L Hutchinson1, J R Lakowicz, E M Sevick-Muraca
1Purdue University, School of Chemical Engineering, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
Abstract:
We have numerically solved the photon diffusion equation to predict the distribution of light in a tissue model system with a uniform concentration of fluorophore. Our results show that time-dependent measurements of light propagation can be used to monitor the fluorescent lifetimes of a uniformly distributed fluorophore in tissues. With proper referencing, frequency-domain measurements of phase-shift, theta, may allow quantitation of fluorescent lifetimes, tau, independent of changes in the local absorption and scattering properties. These results point to a new approach for noninvasive diagnostic monitoring through quantitation of fluorescent lifetime, tau, when the lifetime of the fluorophore is comparable with photon migration times.