To overcome the strong scattering in biological tissue that has long afflicted fluorescence tomography, we have
developed a novel technique, "temperature-modulated fluorescence tomography" (TM-FT) to combine the sensitivity of
fluorescence imaging with focused ultrasound resolution. TM-FT relies on two key elements: temperature sensitive ICG
loaded pluronic nanocapsules we termed ThermoDots and high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). TM-FT localizes
the position of the fluorescent ThermoDots by irradiating and scanning a HIFU beam across the tissue while
conventional fluorescence tomography measurements are acquired. The HIFU beam produces a local hot spot, in which
the temperature suddenly increases changing the quantum efficiency of the ThermoDots. The small size of the focal spot
(~1 mm) up to a depth of 6 cm, allows imaging the distribution of these temperature sensitive agents with not only high
spatial resolution but also high quantitative accuracy in deep tissue using a proper image reconstruction algorithm.
Previously we have demonstrated this technique with a phantom study with ThermoDots sensitive in the 20-25°C range.
We recently optimized the ThermoDots for physiological temperatures. In this work, we will demonstrate a new HIFU
scanning method which is optimized for in vivo studies. The performance of the system is tested using a phantom that
resembles a small animal bearing a small tumor targeted by ThermoDots.
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