Izumi Nishidate
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan
Title: In vivo physiological imaging of biological tissues based on diffuse reflectance spectroscopy with an RGB camera
Biography
Biography: Izumi Nishidate
Abstract
Quantitative assessment of optical properties is important for monitoring metabolism, viability and physiological conditions of in vivo biological tissues. Diff use refl ectance spectra of living tissues refl ects the optical absorption spectra of biological chromophores (i.e., oxygenated hemoglobin, deoxygenated hemoglobin, bilirubin, cytochrome c oxidase, and melanin) and the light scattering spectra of tissues. Diff use refl ectance spectroscopy (DRS) has been widely used for the evaluation of chromophores in living tissue. Th e multispectral imaging technique is a useful tool for extending DRS to the spatial mapping of the chromophores and tissue morphology. Th is can be simply achieved by a monochromatic charge-coupled device (CCD) camera with narrowband fi lters and a white light source, which has been used to investigate the physiological conditions in living tissues such as blood perfusion, oxygenation state of hemoglobin, and melanin content. In clinical conditions, simpler, more cost-eff ective and more portable equipment is needed. Th e digital red, green, blue (RGB) imaging is a promising tool for satisfying these demands for practical application. Imaging with broadband fi lters, as in the case of digital RGB imaging, can also probe spectral information without mechanical rotation of a filter wheel. We have developed an simple imaging technique with a digital RGB camera for in vivo functional imaging of biological tissues. Th e experimental results indicated the ability to evaluate the physiological reactions and hemodynamics in rats and humans.