Cancer diagnostics using dynamic near-infrared optical imaging and fluorescent contrast agents

A new optical imaging modality has been developed for small animal in vivo imaging of near-infrared fluorescence resulting from fluorescent contrast agents specifically targeted to molecular markers of cancer. The imaging system is comprised of an intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD) for the detection of ultra-low levels of re-emitted fluorescence following the delivery of an expanded beam of excitation light. The design of the ICCD detection system allows for both continuous wave (CW) and frequency-domain modes of operation. Since the accurate acquisition of frequency-domain photon migration (FDPM) data is important for tomographic imaging, the imaging system was also validated using experimentally obtained FDPM measurements of homogenous turbid media and diffusion theory to obtain estimates of the optical properties characteristic of the media. The experiments demonstrated that the absorption and reduced scattering coefficients are determined least accurately when relative rel measurements of average light intensity IDC are employed either alone or in a rel combination with relative modulation amplitude data IAC and/or relative phase shift data rel . However, when FDPM measurements of are employed either alone or in rel combination with IAC data, the absorption and reduced scattering coefficients may be found accurate to within 15% and 11%, respectively, of the values obtained from standard single-pixel measurements; a result that suggests that FDPM data obtained from an ICCD detection system may in fact be useful in tomographic imaging. Furthermore, intensified-detection allows for sub-second exposure times, permitting the acquisition of dynamic fluorescence images immediately following administration of the contrast agent. Experimental results demonstrate that when coupled with a suitable pharmacokinetic model describing targeted dye distribution throughout the body, dynamic fluorescence imaging may be used to discriminate spontaneous canine adenocarcinoma from normal mammary tissue. A separate experiment demonstrates that pharmacokinetic analysis of dynamic fluorescence images enables one to estimate the rate constant governing Kaposi's sarcoma tumor uptake of an integrin-targeted dye and integrin receptor turnover rate. The rate constant for uptake was calculated to be 0.16-sec-1 while the turnover rate of the integrin receptor was estimated to occur within 24-hours.