Affiliations: School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian
University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China | School of Electronic Engineering, Xidian University,
Xi'an, Shaanxi, China | Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Beijing, China
Note: [] Corresponding author: Jimin Liang, School of Life Sciences and
Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710126, China. Tel.: +86 29
81891016; Fax: +86 29 81891070; E-mail: jimleung@mail.xidian.edu.cn
Abstract: We present a method for mapping the two-dimensional (2D)
bioluminescent images (BLIs) onto a three-dimensional (3D) body surface derived
from the computed tomography (CT) volume data. This mapping includes two
closely-related steps, the spatial registration of the 2D BLIs into the
coordinate system of the CT volume data and the light flux recovering on the
body surface from BLIs. By labeling markers on the body surface, we proposed an
effective registration method to achieve the spatial position alignment. The
subsequent light flux recovering is presented based on the inverse process of
the free-space light transport model and taking the influence of the camera
lens diaphragm into account. Incorporating the mapping procedure into the
bioluminescence tomography (BLT) reconstruction, we developed a dual-modality
BLT and CT imaging framework to provide both optical and anatomical
information. The accuracy of the registration and the light flux recovering
methods were evaluated via physical phantom experiments. The registration
method was found to have a mean error of 0.41 mm and 0.35 mm in horizontal and
vertical direction, and the accuracy of the light flux recovering method was
below 5%. Furthermore, we evaluated the performance of the dual-modality
BLT/CT imaging framework using a mouse phantom. Preliminary results revealed
the potential and feasibility of the dual-modality imaging framework.
