title: Imaging brain structure and function, infection and gene expression in the body using light.
abstract: Light can be used to probe the function and structure of human tissues. We have been exploring two distinct methods: (i) externally emitting light into tissue and measuring the transmitted light to characterize a region through which the light has passed, and (ii) internally generating light within tissue and using the radiated light as a quantitative homing beacon. The emitted-light approach falls within the domain of spectroscopy, and has allowed for imaging of intracranial haemorrhage in newborns and of brain functions in adults. The generated-light approach is conceptually parallel to positron emission tomography (PET) or nuclear medicine scanning, and has allowed for real-time, non-invasive monitoring and imaging of infection and gene expression in vivo using low-light cameras and ordinary lenses. In this paper, we discuss recent results and speculate on the applications of such techniques.
authors.affiliation: Medical Free Electron Laser Program, Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory (HEPL), Department of Physics, Stanford University, CA 94034, USA.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Benaron
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Contag
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Contag
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015870:Gene Expression; D006678:HIV / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D008027:Light; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D012481:Salmonella Infections, Animal / Q000175:diagnosis; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared / Q000379:methods*; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed; D014779:Virus Replication