title: Dual-tracer background subtraction approach for fluorescent molecular tomography.
abstract: Diffuse fluorescence tomography requires high contrast-to-background ratios to accurately reconstruct inclusions of interest. This is a problem when imaging the uptake of fluorescently labeled molecularly targeted tracers in tissue, which can result in high levels of heterogeneously distributed background uptake. We present a dual-tracer background subtraction approach, wherein signal from the uptake of an untargeted tracer is subtracted from targeted tracer signal prior to image reconstruction, resulting in maps of targeted tracer binding. The approach is demonstrated in simulations, a phantom study, and in a mouse glioma imaging study, demonstrating substantial improvement over conventional and homogenous background subtraction image reconstruction approaches.
authors.affiliation: Dartmouth College, Thayer School of Engineering, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Tichauer
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Holt
authors.forename: Fadi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: El-Ghussein
authors.forename: Scott C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Kimberley S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Samkoe
authors.forename: Jason R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Gunn
authors.forename: Frederic
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Leblond
authors.forename: Brian W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Pogue
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005910:Glioma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011849:Radioactive Tracers; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D011849:Radioactive Tracers