Charge-coupled-device based scanner for tomography of fluorescent near-infrared probes in turbid media

We present a novel tomographer for three-dimensional reconstructions of fluorochromes in diffuse media. Photon detection is based on charge-coupled device technology that allows the implementation of a large parallel array of detection channels with high sensitivity. Using this instrument we studied the response and detection limits of near-infrared fluorochromes in diffuse media as a function of light intensity and for a wide range of biologically relevant concentrations. We further examined the resolution of the scanner and the reconstruction linearity achieved. We demonstrate that the instrument attains better than 3 mm resolution, is linear within more than two orders of magnitude of fluorochrome concentration, and can detect fluorescent objects at femto-mole quantities in small animal-like geometries. These measurements delineate detection and reconstruction characteristics associated with imaging of novel classes of fluorescent probes developed for in vivo molecular and functional probing of tissues.