Feasibility of diffuse optical imaging with long-lived luminescent probes.

Long-lived near-infrared phosphors with high quantum yields have recently become available, making it possible to image oxygen distributions in tissue in three dimensions. By numerical simulations we demonstrate that, by using phosphorescent probes with appropriate oxygen quenching constants, one can image hypoxic phantoms in scattering media with adequate spatial resolution, employing simple time-gated measurements. The approach developed will guide experimental imaging of phosphorescence lifetime and oxygen pressure in living tissue.