Work

Automatic exposure control and estimation of effective system noise in diffuse fluorescence tomography

Year: 2009

Type: article

Abstract: A diffuse fluorescence tomography system, based upon time-correlated single photon counting, is presented with an automated algorithm to allow dynamic range variation through exposure control. This automated exposure control allows the upper and lower detection levels of fluorophore to be extended by an order of magnitude beyond the previously published performance and benefits in a slight decrease in system effective noise. The effective noise level is used as a metric to characterize the system performance, integrating both model-mismatch and calibration bias errors into a single parameter. This effective error is near 7% of the reconstructed fluorescent yield value, when imaging in just few minutes. Quantifying protoporphyrin IX concentrations down to 50 ng/ml is possible, for tumor-sized regions. This fluorophore has very low fluorescence yield, but high biological relevance for tumor imaging, given that it is produced in the mitochondria, and upregulated in many tumor types.

Source: Optics Express

DOI: 10.1364/oe.17.023272

Authors: Dax L. Kepshire, Hamid Dehghani, Frederic Leblond, Brian W. Pogue

Institutions: Dartmouth College, University of Birmingham, Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center

Language: English

Topic: Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques

Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,270