Fluorescence lifetime imaging for intraoperative surgical guidance of head and neck cancer

Fluorescence imaging is being widely explored for intraoperative surgical guidance of head and neck cancers, using exogenous and endogenous contrast. However poor tumor contrast due to non-specific probe accumulation of tnon-targetted as well as receptor targeted probes is a major drawback. Here we show using preclinical and clinical studies that fluorescence lifetime (FLT) imaging can significantly improve the sensitivity and specificity for tumor detection using both indocyanine green (ICG) epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) targeted near infrared probes. We also show that FLTs in tissue are highly correlated with receptor expression levels, thereby enabling quantification of receptor quantification in vivo. Ongoing efforts in our group towards the translation of FLT imaging for intraoperative image guidance during surgeries of head and neck lesions, including oral and skin cancer will also be discussed.