Diffuse optical tomography using multichannel robotic platform for interstitial PDT.

In the operating room, time is extremely precious, and the speed of one's data acquisition system often determines whether the data will be taken or not. Our multichannel robotic platform addresses this issue by optimizing source and detector scanning procedures. Up to 16 fibers can be moved independently with resolution of 0.05 mm and speed of 50 mm/s using motors with position feedback. The initial fiber alignment employs a light beam/optical detector system for identical positioning of all motors. Peak and edge detection algorithms, for point and linear sources, are used with multiple fibers simultaneously for fast realignment of sources and detectors. The robotic platform is used to perform Diffuse Optical Tomography (DOT) measurements in solid prostate phantoms with both homogenous and inhomogeneous Optical Properties (OP). Correct positioning is critical for the accurate recovery of the OP. The light fluence rate distribution is determined by scanning multiple detector fibers simultaneously along lit linear sources placed throughout the phantom volume inside catheter needles. The scanning time for the entire DOT is about 10 seconds after the initial alignment. The OP distribution reconstruction is based on the steady-state light diffusion equation. The inverse interstitial DOT problem is solved using NIRFAST. The optical properties are recovered by iterative minimization of the difference between measured and calculated light fluence rates. Recovered OP agree with the actual values within 10%. The OP corrections are used to significantly improve light fluence accuracy for the entire volume of bulk tumor.