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Current clinical applications of Cerenkov luminescence for intraoperative molecular imaging

  • Review Article
  • Published:
European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) is a new emerging technology that can be used for optical imaging of approved radiotracers, both in a preclinical, and even more recently, in a clinical context with rapid imaging times, low costs, and detection in real-time (Grootendorst et al. Clin Transl Imaging 4(5):353–66, 2016); Wang et al. Photonics 9(6):390, 2022). This brief review provides an overview of clinical applications of CLI with a focus on intraoperative margin assessment (IMA) to address shortcomings and provide insight for future work in this application.

Methods

A literature review was performed using PubMed using the search words Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI), intraoperative margin assessment (IMA), and image-guided surgery. Articles were selected based on title, abstract, content, and application.

Results

Original research was summarized to examine advantages and limitations of CLI compared to other modalities for IMA. The characteristics of Cerenkov luminescence (CL) are defined, and results from relevant clinical trials are discussed. Prospects of ongoing clinical trials are reviewed, along with technological advancements related to CLI.

Conclusion

CLI is a proven method for molecular imaging and shows feasibility for determining intraoperative margins if future work involves establishing quantitative approaches for attenuation and scattering, depth analysis, and radiation safety for CLI at a larger scale.

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Fig. 1

© 2017 Springer Nature Limited

Fig. 2

© 2013 SPIE. b (left) After radiotracer injection, the patient sits in the lightproof enclosure for up to 15 min of imaging time. The Cerenkov camera is placed outside the enclosure and connected to relay optics, fiberscope, and a f-0.95 lens. Most of the CL detected is red-weighted, since the blue-weighted wavelengths are attenuated and scattered through the patients’ tissue. (right) CL image produced using the clinical Cerenkov setup vs. a standard-of-care PET image of (top) thyroid cancer using [131I]-sodium iodide and (bottom) lymphoma using [18F]-FDG. Reproduced with permission from [30], © 2022 Springer Nature Limited

Fig. 3

© 2017 SNMMI

Fig. 4

© 2020 Springer Science + Business Media

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Data Availability

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

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Funding

We acknowledge the support of the following grant: P30 CA08748 (to S. M. Vickers MSKCC).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY, 10031, USA

    Natalie Boykoff

  2. Ph.D. Program in Chemistry, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Natalie Boykoff

  3. Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Natalie Boykoff & Jan Grimm

  4. Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Natalie Boykoff & Jan Grimm

  5. Pharmacology Program, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Jan Grimm

  6. Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Jan Grimm

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Jan Grimm conceptualized the idea for the article and approved final manuscript. Natalie Boykoff performed the literature review, data analysis, and drafted the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jan Grimm.

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Boykoff, N., Grimm, J. Current clinical applications of Cerenkov luminescence for intraoperative molecular imaging. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-024-06602-3

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