Multimodal MRI-optical system for high-resolution structural and functional imaging

Abstract

Near-infrared (NIR) based bioimaging modalities use electromagnetic waves in the near-infrared spectral range to study functional changes in living tissue by detecting changes in absorption, fluorescence, or scatter arising from intrinsic chromophores such as oxy- and deoxyhaemoglobin, cytochromes, metabolites etc. while Magnetic Resonance Imaging provides superior soft tissue contrast which makes it the ideal imaging modality for non-invasive visualization of brain architecture. Integrating the two modalities then creates a dual-mode imaging system that combines in vivomolecular and functional imagingwith high-quality anatomic imaging.

In this research project, we set up the NIR optical setup and then worked on integrating it with the MRI scanner for simultaneous in-vivo imaging. Setup included aligning and fine-tuning the optical and electronic components as well as developing a LabVIEW based software platform to interface with each component and acquire images. The system was calibrated using DIY gelatin-based tissue phantoms for preliminary image acquisition.