Brad Rice, Ph.D.
Chief Technology Officer and Vice President
Xenogen Biosciences, Alameda, CA

In Vivo imaging of bioluminescent and fluorescent probes is a powerful technology for
the study of biological function and assessment of drug efficacy in pre-clinical animal
models. Light-emitting probes can be detected up to several centimeters deep in
tissue using highly sensitive cooled CCD cameras. One of the challenges with this
technology is that photons are scattered and absorbed in tissue, resulting in spatial
resolution and signal amplitude that are dependent on the depth of tissue. The use of
spectral information and 3D diffuse tomographic techniques can help overcome these
issues.
In this seminar, we will review the basic concepts related to imaging light in tissue,
including tissue optics, wavelength considerations, and sources of background light.
Recent advances in 2D and 3D imaging hardware will be described, including
systems for detection of both bioluminescent and fluorescent labels. A 3D diffuse
tomography reconstruction algorithm has been developed, based on a homogeneous
tissue model, and this algorithm is demonstrated on both phantom and live-mouse
models.

Televideo will NOT be available.