Hand-held optical probe for fluorescence imaging of breast cancer

描述（由申请人提供）：在美国，早期乳腺癌的诊断成像对于降低癌症导致的死亡率至关重要。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方式，可以成为早期乳腺癌诊断和疾病预后的重要工具。迄今为止，荧光增强光学断层成像中的大部分工作是使用以下各项进行的：（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）仅限于对特定组织体积或形状进行成像的非柔性光学探针;或（iii）询问有限组织体积的测量几何形状。在当前的应用中，我们建议开发一种手持式光纤探头（直径约2”），用于使用大型组织模型和体外组织模型对乳腺癌进行荧光成像。手持式光学探头将在以下方面是独特的：（i）对任何组织形状和体积进行成像的灵活性;（ii）由于其基于手持式的设计，具有不可压缩性、便携性和患者舒适性;以及（iii）新颖的测量几何形状，可以在减少成像时间的情况下询问更大的组织体积。发展目标是：（i）设计和建造具有最佳光纤配置的手持式光学仪器，用于同时进行近红外光照明和收集测量几何结构;（ii）开发和优化快速数据采集频域增强型电荷耦合器件（ICCD）检测系统;（iii）使用仿组织体模进行荧光增强吸收成像研究，并在体外组织样本和评估的精确度和准确性的荧光测量;和（iv）整合一个本科生与当前的研究在不同阶段的拟议工作。拟议工作的里程碑是开发一种手持式基于光学的成像仪，该成像仪具有鲁棒性、快速性、灵活性、不可压缩性、舒适性、便携性，并且适用于任何给定的乳房体积和形状，预计将在临床中呈现高分辨率的诊断和预后乳腺癌成像。

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.