| X-ray micro-Computed Tomography (microCT) was combined with fluorescence tomography to allow structural and functional imaging in vivo. MicroCT is an anatomical small animal imaging modality which offers high spatial resolution, but poor soft tissue contrast, consequently limiting its ability to image tumors in-vivo to a few anatomical sites. The incorporation of functional imaging capabilities from fluorescence tomography has the potential to enhance the information content by providing increased sensitivity to detecting cancerous tissues. In this work, a fully non-contact fluorescence imager, designed to interface with an existing microCT scanner, was designed, constructed and performance demonstrated, according to the following goals: (i) provide maximal sensitivity using single photon counting techniques; (ii) utilize a non-contact interface which is compatible with microCT imaging; (iii) acquire fluorescence and transmission signals in parallel; (iv) complete a total imaging sequence in several minutes; (v) image with multiple detectors in parallel; and (vi) develop an automatic exposure routine for data SNR optimization. Each of these goals was achieved and the system and performance characterized & validated through phantom imaging and a small animal pilot study. |
