Non-contact, functional, optical imaging of living tissue for clinical and research applications

Optical tissue imaging is a potentially powerful diagnostic and research tool that currently suffers from low resolution and limited (sub-millimeter) tissue penetration depths. Laminar optical tomography (LOT) is an optical imaging technique that can non-invasively provide depth resolved images of living tissue at 100-200 micrometer resolution and at penetration depths greater than 2 millimeters, but has not been widely employed in clinical and research settings because of the limitations of the imaging setup. This technology employs an articulating arm and fiber optic imaging bundle to collect LOT data, giving it the flexibility required for clinical applications.

Flexible LOT set-up allows for imaging of internal and external living tissues

This technology provides three-dimensional, depth-correlated, high-resolution images of living tissues. The LOT set-up both measures the absorption of multiple wavelengths of light and detects fluorescence signals to provide a functional image of the tissue. It can be used in combination with diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS), which can provide additional information including on blood flow, tissue oxygenation, and oxygen metabolism. It therefore has potential as a powerful clinical diagnostic tool for lesions on both external tissues like skin and internal endothelial tissues like the oral mucosa, esophagus, cervix, and colon. It can also be used in a research setting for imaging of small animal model organisms.

This technology has been employed in a research setting for the optical imaging of rodent brains. It has also been used to analyze skin lesions in order to characterize them as malignant or benign.

Lead Inventor:

Elizabeth M. C. Hillman, Ph.D.

Applications:

• 3D optical imaging of living tissue
• Diagnostic imaging tool for skin lesions from cancer, burns, wounds, and ulcers
• Diagnostic imaging tool for internal tissues including the oral mucosa, cervix, colon and esophagus
• Diagnostic imaging tool for ophthalmic tissue
• Research tool for small animal imaging
• Research tool for evaluation of tumor perfusion and treatment response
• Measurement tool for industrial quality control
• Analysis of metabolic oxygen uptake and subsurface fluid flow

Advantages:

• Can image dynamic, living tissue
• Can collect images at a high frame rate
• Images resolutions are 100-200 micrometers
• Penetration depths are greater than 2 millimeters
• Does not require contact with tissues
• Allows for a variety of modes that can increase penetration depth and/or depth resolution
• Allows for circumferential imaging
• Allows for the incorporation of other attachments

Patent Information:

Patent Pending (US 20100168586)

Patent Pending (WO/2009/005748)

Tech Ventures Reference: IR 2170, 2179

Related Publications:

• Muldoon TJ, Burgess SA, Chen BR, Ratner D, Hillman EM. "Analysis of skin lesions using laminar optical tomography." Biomed Opt Express. 2012 Jul 1;3(7):1701-12.

• Burgess SA, Ratner D, Chen BR, Hillman EM. "Fiber-optic and articulating arm implementations of laminar optical tomography for clinical applications." Biomed Opt Express. 2010 Sep 2;1(3):780-790.

• Hillman EM, Burgess SA. "Sub-millimeter resolution 3D optical imaging of living tissue using laminar optical tomography." Laser Photon Rev. 2009 Feb 1;3(1-2):159-179.

• Yuan B, Burgess SA, Iranmahboob A, Bouchard MB, Lehrer N, Bordier C, Hillman EM. "A system for high-resolution depth-resolved optical imaging of fluorescence and absorption contrast." Rev Sci Instrum. 2009 Apr;80(4):043706. doi: 10.1063/1.3117204.

• Burgess SA, Bouchard MB, Yuan B, Hillman EM. "Simultaneous multiwavelength laminar optical tomography." Opt Lett. 2008 Nov 15;33(22):2710-2.

• Hillman EM, Bernus O, Pease E, Bouchard MB, Pertsov A. "Depth-resolved optical imaging of transmural electrical propagation in perfused heart." Opt Express. 2007 Dec 24;15(26):17827-41.

• Hillman EM, Boas DA, Dale AM, Dunn AK. "Laminar optical tomography: demonstration of millimeter-scale depth-resolved imaging in turbid media." Opt Lett. 2004 Jul 15;29(14):1650-2.