Shortwave-infrared meso-patterned imaging enables label-free mapping of tissue water and lipid content

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 5355
• Main Authors: Zhao, Yanyu, Pilvar, Anahita, Tank, Anup, Peterson, Hannah, Jiang, John, Aster, Jon C, Dumas, John Paul, Pierce, Mark C, Roblyer, Darren
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 23.10.2020; Nature Publishing Group UK; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Absorption spectra; Adipose Tissue, Brown - diagnostic imaging; Adipose Tissue, Brown - pathology; Adult; Animals; Biological activity; Biomarkers - blood; Blood; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Chromophores; Edema; Edema - diagnostic imaging; Edema - pathology; Female; Heterogeneity; Heterografts; Humans; In vivo methods and tests; Inflammation - diagnostic imaging; Inflammation - pathology; Infrared imaging; Infrared Rays; Lipids; Lipids - blood; Male; Mapping; Medical imaging; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Middle Aged; Moisture content; Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Neoplasms - pathology; Obesity - diagnostic imaging; Optical Imaging - instrumentation; Optical Imaging - methods; Prostatic Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Prostatic Neoplasms - pathology; Radio Waves; Short wave radiation; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared - instrumentation; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared - methods; Tissues; Water - analysis; Water content
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19128-7

Water and lipids are key participants in many biological processes, but there are few non-invasive methods that provide quantification of these components in vivo, and none that can isolate and quantify lipids in the blood. Here we develop a new imaging modality termed shortwave infrared meso-patterned imaging (SWIR-MPI) to provide label-free, non-contact, spatial mapping of water and lipid concentrations in tissue. The method utilizes patterned hyperspectral illumination to target chromophore absorption bands in the 900-1,300 nm wavelength range. We use SWIR-MPI to monitor clinically important physiological processes including edema, inflammation, and tumor lipid heterogeneity in preclinical models. We also show that SWIR-MPI can spatially map blood-lipids in humans, representing an example of non-invasive and contact-free measurements of in vivo blood lipids. Together, these results highlight the potential of SWIR-MPI to enable new capabilities in fundamental studies and clinical monitoring of major conditions including obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.