Video-rate optical flow corrected intraoperative functional fluorescence imaging

Intraoperative fluorescence molecular imaging based on targeted fluorescence agents is an emerging approach to improve surgical and endoscopic imaging and guidance. Short exposure times per frame and implementation at video rates are necessary to provide continuous feedback to the physician and avoid motion artifacts. However, fast imaging implementations also limit the sensitivity of fluorescence detection. To improve on detection sensitivity in video rate fluorescence imaging, we considered herein an optical flow technique applied to texture-rich color images. This allows the effective accumulation of fluorescence signals over longer, virtual exposure times. The proposed correction scheme is shown to improve signal-to-noise ratios both in phantom experiments and in vivo tissue imaging.