Hand-held optical probe for fluorescence imaging of breast cancer

描述（由申请人提供）：早期乳腺癌的诊断成像对于降低美国癌症死亡率至关重要。近红外（NIR）光学成像是一种新兴的非侵入性方法，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模型或活体动物模型；（ii）只能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式光纤探针（直径~ 2”），使用大组织幻影和体外组织模型对乳腺癌进行荧光成像。手持式光学探针在以下方面将是独一无二的：(i)对任何组织形状和体积成像的灵活性；（ii）不可压缩性、便携性和患者舒适度，因为其基于手持的设计；（iii）新颖的测量几何结构，可以在减少成像时间的同时询问更大的组织体积。开发目标是：(i)设计和建造具有最佳光纤配置的手持光学设备，以同时进行近红外光照明和收集测量几何；（ii）开发和优化快速数据采集频域增强电荷耦合装置（ICCD）检测系统；（iii）使用组织模拟模型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度和准确性；（iv）将本科生与当前研究结合在拟议工作的各个阶段。这项工作的里程碑是开发一种手持式光学成像仪，它坚固、快速、灵活、不可压缩、舒适、便携，适用于任何给定的乳房体积和形状，有望在临床中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.