Translational fluorescence lifetime imaging using exogenous probes

Oncologic surgery can greatly benefit from imaging techniques for the accurate identification of tumor-positive margins both intraoperatively and in resection specimens immediately following surgery. We have demonstrated clinically that fluorescence lifetime can significantly improve the accuracy for tumor vs. normal classification compared to fluorescence intensity in multiple cancer types using tumor targeted agents. We will present recent progress towards the translation of lifetime imaging for improving tumor contrast in multiple types of solid tumors. We will also discuss novel high speed lifetime imaging techniques and their application for intraoperative imaging in patients injected with the FDA approved dye, Indocyanine green.