Imaging Core

Project Summary/Abstract The Imaging Core (Core B) provides centralized imaging support to all levels of this Program Project grant, from small animals to human imaging. The Core combines resources from the Small Animal Imaging Facility in Radiology, the Matthew J Ryan Veterinary School of Medicine and the Center for Precision Surgery to create a facility with state-of-the-art instrumentation, and dedicated faculty and staff to apply NIR optical imaging to intraoperative pulmonary surgery. The Core will focus on developing and implementing back table imaging protocols for fluorescence imaging of tumors in situ and in surgical specimens. The goals are to improve co- registration of fluorescence images with histopathology, accurately determine tumor margin detection and detect micrometastases, secondary tumor deposits and cancerous lymph nodes. We will apply these techniques to pulmonary tumor resections, bronchoscopies, and lymph node specimens. In addition, Core B will provide imaging support to both large animal (canine) and small animal (mouse) components of this program to aid in the translation of the new novel targeted imaging agents into the operating theater in patients with pulmonary cancers. Part of the mission of the Core is to refine tissue processing protocols in order to co-register macro and microscopic tissue images between surgical images and pathology. In doing so we will compare the sensitivity and resolution of different imaging platforms and determine the sensitivity of NIR imaging and the depth of detectable fluorescence. The Core facilitates testing of new imaging cameras, calibrating against fluorescent standards and phantoms, and benchmarking to existing clinical and preclinical imaging scanners. Our goal is to establish a paradigm bridging surgical imaging and pathology for the establishment of an optical biopsy for precise detection of margins in the operating theater. These advances will improve the surgical management and prognosis of lung cancer patients.