Recent methodology advances in fluorescence molecular tomography

Abstract

Molecular imaging (MI) is a novel imaging discipline that has been continuously developed in recent years. It combines biochemistry, multimodal imaging, biomathematics, bioinformatics, cell & molecular physiology, biophysics, and pharmacology, and it provides a new technology platform for the early diagnosis and quantitative analysis of diseases, treatment monitoring and evaluation, and the development of comprehensive physiology. Fluorescence Molecular Tomography (FMT) is a type of optical imaging modality in MI that captures the three-dimensional distribution of fluorescence within a biological tissue generated by a specific molecule of fluorescent material within a biological tissue. Compared with other optical molecular imaging methods, FMT has the characteristics of high sensitivity, low cost, and safety and reliability. It has become the research frontier and research hotspot of optical molecular imaging technology. This paper took an overview of the recent methodology advances in FMT, mainly focused on the photon propagation model of FMT based on the radiative transfer equation (RTE), and the reconstruction problem solution consist of forward problem and inverse problem. We introduce the detailed technologies utilized in reconstruction of FMT. Finally, the challenges in FMT were discussed. This survey aims at summarizing current research hotspots in methodology of FMT, from which future research may benefit.

How Different Albumin-Binders Drive Probe Distribution of Fluorescent RGD Mimetics

“…FRI has been shown to be particularly feasible for evaluation of murine xenograft models in nude mice, where absorption and scattering of superficial tissue and fur are negligible ( Ntziachristos et al, 2003 ; Gerwing et al, 2020 ). FMT can be used for a deeper insight into the murine body ( von Wallbrunn et al, 2007 ; Razansky et al, 2012 ; An et al, 2018 ), especially when combined with small animal CT (µCT) in a hybrid system, where a considerable benefit for the accuracy of signal correlation and additional attenuation correction for improved signal quantification can be realized ( Rosenhain et al, 2017 ). Optical imaging of integrin expression has mainly been described in the context of α v β 3 -targeted RGD containing peptide probes for cancer-related investigations ( Chakravarty et al, 2015 ; Bernhagen et al, 2019 ; Zhang et al, 2019 ; Zhao et al, 2020 ).…”

Intraoperative near-infrared fluorescence imaging can identify pelvic nerves in patients with cervical cancer in real time during radical hysterectomy

“…NIR-FI with ICG in vivo was performed using a DPM-I system (Zhuhai Dipu Medical Technology Co., Ltd.) developed for open surgery, in accordance with our previous studies [ 19 , 20 ]. In brief, DPM-I consists of a hybrid light source generating two wavelength-isolated lights: 1200 lm of 420–700 nm light and 35 mW/cm 2 of 785 nm light.…”

Depth and structure information in fluorescence molecular tomography obtained from time resolved spectroscopy

“…The calculation yields the sensitivity matrix where each matrix element corresponds to a specific source-detector pair. Optical properties of the different spatial points inside the tissue are calculated as the so called inverse problem to estimate the measurement results expected for different source positions [1,3].…”

“…In general, the fluorescence light is detected by sensors placed around the sample, and the resulting data is evaluated with model-based simulations of the light propagation in the medium. The results are then used to create a three-dimensional map of the distribution of the fluorophores within the sample [1][2][3].…”