Preliminary results from a multi-wavelength time domain optical molecular imaging system

In the last few years there has been a growing interest in the use of small animal optical molecular imaging systems to conduct preclinical studies. Most of these imaging systems are based on continuous wave (CW) technology to measure the bioluminescence or fluorescence light intensity from optical probes in small animals. The eXplore optix (TM) is currently the only commercially available imaging system based on time domain (TD) technology. In addition to measuring the light intensity, the TD approach provides extra information to help determine the depth and concentration of optical probes in small animals. Furthermore, the TD approach uniquely allows the fluorescence lifetime of a fluorophore-based optical probe to be measured. Recently, our single wavelength eXplore-optiX (TM) system has been upgraded to a multi-wavelength (eXplore Optix (TM)-MX) system with the addition of 3 laser wavelengths and corresponding filters. This has enabled us to image a variety of fluorophores for different preclinical applications. Preliminary results evaluating the performance of the eXplore-optiX (TM)-MX are presented employing fluorophores with different spectral and lifetime characteristics.