Imaging of fluorophore concentration and lifetime in turbid media [tumors detection application]

Summary form only given. Recently fluorescence has been explored as a means to enhance the sensitivity and specificity for the detection of heterogeneities in thick turbid media. This approach relies on the fact that the fluorophore will preferentially accumulate in tumors in comparison to background tissues, and that the fluorophore lifetime is often altered in different environments as a result of tissue oxygenation, pH, and glucose. Here the authors demonstrate a method whereby one can simultaneously derive a spatial map of the concentration and lifetime of heterogeneous fluorophore distributions, using variations in the amplitude and phase of fluorescent diffusing photon density waves.