Hand-held optical probe for fluorescence imaging of breast cancer

描述(申请人提供)：早期乳腺癌的诊断成像对于降低美国癌症引起的死亡率至关重要。使用外部荧光造影剂的近红外(NIR)光学成像是一种新兴的非侵入性成像手段，可以成为早期乳腺癌诊断和疾病预后的重要工具。到目前为止，荧光增强光学层析成像的大部分工作是使用：(I)缺乏临床相关深度信息的小体积体模或体内动物模型；(Ii)仅限于成像特定组织体积或形状的非柔性光学探头；或(Iii)询问有限组织体积的测量几何形状。在目前的应用中，我们建议开发一种手持光纤探头(直径~2“)，以使用大组织模体和体外组织模型进行乳腺癌的荧光成像。手持式光学探头在以下方面将是独一无二的：(I)对任何组织形状和体积进行成像的灵活性；(Ii)基于手持设计的不可压缩性、便携性和患者舒适性；以及(Iii)能够在缩短成像时间的情况下询问更大组织体积的新颖测量几何结构。开发的目标是：(I)设计和建造具有最佳光纤配置的手持式光学系统，以同时进行近红外光照明和收集测量几何形状；(Ii)开发和优化快速数据获取频域增强型电荷耦合器件(ICCD)探测系统；(Iii)使用组织模拟体模和体外组织样本进行荧光增强吸收成像研究，并评估荧光测量的精密度和准确度；以及(Iv)将本科生与拟议工作不同阶段的当前研究结合起来。这项拟议工作的里程碑是开发一种手持式光学成像系统，它具有健壮、快速、灵活、不可压缩、舒适、便携的特点，适用于任何给定的乳房体积和形状，有望在临床上提供高分辨率的乳腺癌诊断和预后成像。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Diagnostic imaging of early stage breast cancer is essential for decreasing the death rate caused by cancer in the United States. Near-infrared (NIR) optical imaging using external fluorescence contrast agents is an emerging non-invasive modality that can become an important tool in the diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer and prognosis of the disease. To date, most of the work in fluorescence-enhanced optical tomographic imaging is carried out using: (i) small volume phantom or in-vivo animal models that lack clinically relevant depth information; (ii) non-flexible optical probes that are restricted to image only specific tissue volumes or shapes; or (iii) measurement geometries that interrogate limited tissue volumes. In the current application, we propose to develop a hand-held optical fiber probe (~ 2" diameter) to perform fluorescence imaging of breast cancer using large tissue phantoms and in-vitro tissue models. The hand- held optical probe will be unique in terms of its: (i) flexibility to image any tissue shape and volume; (ii) non- compressibility, portability, and patient comfort due to its hand-held based design; and (iii) novel measurement geometry that can interrogate greater tissue volumes with reduced imaging time. The developmental aims are to: (i) design and construction of a hand-held optical with optimal fiber configuration for simultaneous NIR light illumination and collection measurement geometry; (ii) develop and optimize a rapid data acquiring frequency-domain intensified charge coupled device (ICCD) detection system; (iii) perform fluorescence-enhanced absorption imaging studies using tissue-mimicking phantoms and in-vitro tissue samples and assess the precision and accuracy of the fluorescence measurements; and (iv) integrate an undergraduate student with current research at various stages of the proposed work. The milestone of the proposed work is to develop a hand-held optical-based imagerthat is robust, rapid, flexible, non- compressible, comfortable, portable, and applicable for any given breast volume and shape, that is expected to render high-resolution diagnostic and prognostic breast cancer imaging in the clinic.