Development of fluorescence tomography-guided radiotherapy for preclinical research

To enhance the functional image-guided capabilities in preclinical radiotherapy research, we developed fluorescence tomography (FT) and integrated it with a commercial bioluminescence tomography (BLT) system for small animal irradiators. We devised a novel method to achieve submillimeter accuracy in mapping the excitation sources and fluorescence data to the imaged animal surface. We expect to achieve approximately 1 mm accuracy in 3D target localization for in vivo tumor model. The multi-model FT/BLT-guided system will provide advanced image-guided capabilities to enhance preclinical radiotherapy research, particularly in cases where radiation is combined with other systemic treatments, thus expanding its applications beyond local therapy.