Visualizing tumors deep within the body is difficult because light can only penetrate so far through tissues without losing most of the data it carries. Fluorescent markers that can highlight the existence of tumor cells have to be visible in order for them to help with diagnosis, while radioactive markers can be dangerous. MRIs and CT scanners do a reasonable job these days spotting larger lesions, but early tumor formation goes largely unnoticed.
Light, particularly at longer wavelengths, has been successfully used to image and spot things inside the body not much more than about three centimeters in depth. It has been thought that that may be a fundamental limit, but researchers at MIT have now developed a technology that lets them track tiny fluorescent probes down to eight centimeters of tissue depth.
Normally, fluorescent markers glow at a single frequency and when they’re deep enough inside tissue the glow fuses together and all the detail is lost. The MIT team used a combination of different frequencies, along with a technique called hyperspectral imaging, to be able to tell the location of individual probes.
The technology is called DOLPHIN, which is an acronym for “Detection of Optically Luminescent Probes using Hyperspectral and diffuse Imaging in Near-infrared,” and it works with already approved fluorescent markers, meaning that it may soon be available as a new modality for spotting deep seated cancers.
Study in journal Scientific Reports: Deep-tissue optical imaging of near cellular-sized features…
Via: MIT…
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