| This thesis reports advanced optical imaging technology in a stand-alone system that enables functional mesoscopic imaging (whole-body or endoscopic imaging with microscopic resolution) of small animals in vivo, and provides for quantitative, dynamic, and functional monitoring of chemo- and nanoconstruct therapy. Many currently available imaging approaches have been applied to preclinical studies of cancer, stem cells, and pharmaceutical outcomes. Moreover, useful in vivo imaging may require several, preferably combined, and advanced imaging modalities to examine different but complementary characteristics of molecules, cells, or tissues. Although commercial systems perform well for standard imaging of small animals, they have limitations stemming from being single-modality instruments. Thus, a new multimode optical imaging system that is designed to be application-optimizable, with higher sensitivity and specificity has been developed here in order to overcome these limitations. The instrument combines various in vivo imaging modes, including fluorescence intensity, spectral, lifetime, intra-vital confocal, two-photon excited fluorescence, and bioluminescence imaging. Also this system is a unique and comprehensive imaging platform for analyzing kinetic, quantitative, environmental, and other highly-relevant information with macro- to micro-scopic resolution. This system can be optimized for various applications, and the combination of multiple imaging modes for increased contrast and complementary/synergetic information in chemotherapy assessment and cancer detection is emphasized here. |
