FMT-CT is a new method of fluorescence imaging. It allows image quantification in vivo. Fluorescence imaging has an advantage over PET that it allows non-ionizing radiation to be used, does not need a cyclotron, and it allows the simultaneous comparison of multiple biomarkers. The problem with FMT alone is that there is difficulty with anatomical localization of the brain lesions- because of the curvature of the head and the optical heterogeneity of the tissue. Also, when imaging neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease it presents a problem because of the spread out pattern of the pathology. These problems can be overcome with the addition of X-Ray CT to FMT by addition of the anatomical data. A study that shows its success in imaging AD in mice is the following-
Hybrid FMT-CT imaging of Amyloid beta plaques in a murine Alzheimer’s disease model; Neuroimage 44, 1304-1311
Adolfo Cotter, MD
Apr 19/2010
