Micro CT/NIR Molecular Imaging of Cancer

描述(申请人提供)：这项提议的基本假设是，通过增加对癌症组织的结构和功能更敏感的近红外光谱成像功能，计算机断层扫描技术可以显著增强，届时将有可能改善对癌症治疗的理解和开发。这一最重要的假设的实际测试集中在开发一种新的临床前成像系统，用于肿瘤诊断和癌症治疗中的监测。小动物X射线计算机断层扫描(MicroCT)和近红外(NIR)断层扫描系统将结合在一起。这种MicroCT/NIR系统将是世界上唯一的此类系统，它将通过CT引导的图像重建，对软组织体积进行高分辨率成像，并对血红蛋白、血氧饱和度、水和外源分子示踪剂进行量化。这项研究将评估近红外断层扫描与CT的最佳耦合，包括接触式和非接触式系统。这项研究将测试宽带光谱层析成像，以提供尽可能多的信息，并利用对基于模型的图像重建过程中的边界误差不敏感的非接触数据进行重建。完成的系统将用于血管和细胞定向治疗引起的肿瘤损害的研究。该系统将与IMTEK Inc.以及NCI光学成像翻译研究网络(NTROI)的机构支持和合作伙伴关系一起开发。该系统是在CT-PET成像方面的创新之后专门设计的，这些创新可以在相同的系统上完成，但在这一应用中，我们将利用近红外成像的能力来提供功能性组织信息。将CT信息实现为软先验信息，该软先验信息可用于约束或初始先验信息。该系统将在皮下和原位前列腺癌肿瘤中进行评估，这些肿瘤具有良好的血管密度和氧气直方图特征。该系统将被用来根据与噪声的对比来定义最大信号变化，这是治疗变化的量化标志。这项工作的高潮将看到一种独特的断层成像系统的工作版本，并为未来的人类研究铺平道路，并用于自发的动物研究，以发现和跟踪否则无法检测到的肿瘤生长。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The underlying hypothesis in this proposal is that Computed Tomography could be significantly augmented with the addition of near-infrared spectral imaging capabilities which are more sensitive to the structure and function of cancer tissues, and that improved understanding and development of cancer therapies will then be possible. The practical tests of this overarching hypothesis are focused on the development of a novel pre-clinical imaging system for tumor diagnosis and monitoring in cancer therapy. A small animal x-ray Computed Tomography (microCT) with Near-Infrared (NIR) tomography system will be combined. This microCT/NIR system will be the only system of its kind in the world, and will allow high resolution imaging of soft tissue volumes and quantification of hemoglobin, oxygen saturation, water and exogenous molecular tracers, with CT-guided image reconstruction. The study will evaluate the optimal coupling of NIR tomography into the CT, including contact and non-contact based systems. The study will test broadband spectral tomography to provide the maximal information possible and utilize reconstruction from non-contact data which is insensitive to boundary errors in the model-based image reconstruction procedure. The completed system will be used in studies of tumor damage induced by vascular and cellular directed therapies. The system will be developed in a unique academic-industry partnership with Imtek Inc, as well as with institutional support and with partnership from the NCI Network for Translational Research in Optical Imaging (NTROI). This system is specifically being designed following the innovations in CT-PET imaging that can be done with the same system, but in this application we will exploit the capabilities for NIR imaging to provide functional tissue information. The CT information is implemented as a soft prior information which can be utilized for constraint or initial prior information. The system will be evaluated with subcutaneous and orthotopic prostate cancer tumors which have well characterized vascular densities and oxygen histograms. The system will be used to define the maximal signal changes in terms of contrast to noise, which are quantitative signatures of therapeutic change. The culmination of this work will see the a working version of a one of a kind tomography system, and pave the way for future human studies, and be used in spontaneous animal studies to find and follow tumor growth which would otherwise be undetectable.