Technologies

Finding buried tumors with depth-resolved fluorescence imaging

University Health Network’s biophotonics group has developed a fluorescence imaging technique which provides a depth-resolved map of buried fluorescence, a technique called Sub-Surface Fluorescence Topography (SSFT). The primary application is detection and mapping of fluorescently-labeled tumors that reside beneath the tissue surface within the first 10 mm. This technique can aid surgeons by localizing buried residual tumor, providing better information to guide decision-making in proceeding with the resection. This instrument extracts information from the sub-surface fluorescence and is able to reconstruct topographical maps of the fluorescently-marked buried tumor; current intraoperative imaging does not provide this information. A proof-of-concept imager has been built with the development of a clinical system for intracranial brain tumor resection currently underway.