Kim Suhyeon, Oh Gyungseok, Kim Young Ro, Chung Euiheon, Kwon Hyuk-Sang
Department of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, 61005, South Korea.
Medical Technology Examination Division, Korean Intellectual Property Office, Daejeon, 35208, South Korea.
Sci Rep. 2024 Dec 30;14(1):31575. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-76173-8.
In optical imaging of solid tumors, signal contrasts derived from inherent tissue temperature differences have been employed to distinguish tumor masses from surrounding tissue. Moreover, with the advancement of active infrared imaging, dynamic thermal characteristics in response to exogenous thermal modulation (heating and cooling) have been proposed as novel measures of tumor assessment. Contrast factors such as the average rate of temperature changes and thermal recovery time constants have been investigated through an active thermal modulation imaging approach, yielding promising tumor characterization results in a xenograft mouse model. Here, to assess its clinical potential, we developed and deployed an endoscopic infrared thermal modulation imaging system, incorporating anti-reflection germanium lenses. Employing tissue cooling, we evaluated the feasibility of detecting in situ tumors in a syngeneic rectal tumor mouse model. Consequently, early-stage tumors were successfully localized and evaluated based on their heat signatures. Notably, tumors exhibited a higher rate of temperature change induced by thermal modulation compared to adjacent tissues. Through the introduction of this label-free technology, Infrared Thermal Modulation Endoscopy (ITME), our study showcased an effective method for optically delineating and assessing solid tumors. This innovative diagnostic technology holds significant promise for enhancing our ability to detect, classify, and characterize abnormal tissues.
在实体瘤的光学成像中，利用源于固有组织温度差异的信号对比度来区分肿瘤块与周围组织。此外，随着主动红外成像技术的进步，对外源热调制（加热和冷却）作出响应的动态热特性已被提议作为肿瘤评估的新指标。通过主动热调制成像方法研究了诸如温度变化平均速率和热恢复时间常数等对比因子，在异种移植小鼠模型中取得了有前景的肿瘤表征结果。在此，为评估其临床潜力，我们开发并部署了一种包含抗反射锗透镜的内镜红外热调制成像系统。利用组织冷却，我们评估了在同基因直肠肿瘤小鼠模型中检测原位肿瘤的可行性。结果，早期肿瘤基于其热特征被成功定位和评估。值得注意的是，与相邻组织相比，肿瘤在热调制下表现出更高的温度变化速率。通过引入这种无标记技术——红外热调制内镜检查（ITME），我们的研究展示了一种用于光学描绘和评估实体瘤的有效方法。这种创新的诊断技术在增强我们检测、分类和表征异常组织的能力方面具有重大前景。
