Near-infrared optical tomography in endoscopy-geometry

The use of Near-Infrared (NIR) Optical Tomography in endoscopy geometries for imaging internal organs such as the prostate, colon and rectum are discussed. The NIR tomography can be used for internal organs because of the development of appropriate applicator arrays. The applicator uses a broadband light source which passes through a collimating lens forming a one dimensional linear distribution of source spectrum. The endoscope NIR probe when used in the rectum produces a reconstructed image that shows excellent contrast of the occlusion over the ex vivo background tissue. This innovative technique presents a new way for detection of non-invasive tissue specific cancer in internal organs.