Imaging brain structure and function, infection and gene expression in the body using light

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences 1997-06, Vol.352 (1354), p.755-761
Main Authors: Benaron, David A., Contag, Pamela R., Contag, Christopher H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
AIDS/HIV
Animals
Body tissues
Brain - physiology
Cerebral Hemorrhage - diagnosis
Communicable Diseases - diagnosis
Communicable Diseases - physiopathology
Diagnostic imaging
Gene Expression
Hemorrhage
HIV - physiology
Humans
Imaging
Infant, Newborn
Infections
Jurkat Cells
Light
Mice
Mice, Transgenic
Neuroimaging
Salmonella Infections, Animal - diagnosis
Spectrophotometry, Infrared - methods
Spectroscopy
Tissue oxygenation
Tomography, Emission-Computed
Ultrasonography
Virus Replication
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Summary: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 function 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.
ISSN:0962-8436
1471-2970
DOI:10.1098/rstb.1997.0059