Fluorescent probes & real time imaging

The Fluoptics solution (probe and imaging device) is used on small and large animals at the preclinical stage in cancer research. We are translating this complete solution clinically in order to perform intra operative tumor imaging.

Fluoptics provides molecular probes specifically targeting integrins over-expressed in angiogenesis and in many cancerous tumors.
The visualisation of the area concentrating theses probes during surgery provides an in vivo biological information that will help the surgeon to characterize cancerous areas, to define tumor margins and to protect normal vital structures.

Fluobeam^™ is providing a real time quantitative imaging of the fluorescence in the field of operation. The high sensitivity of the CCD camera, the high quantum yield and brightness of the fluorescent probe and the optimisation of the near infra-red optical filtering of the camera allow detecting and displaying in real time even low intensity fluorescents signals.

In surgery the tumor margins are very often blurred by peritumoral edema or inflammation within surrounding normal tissues. The precise detection of the margin is greatly improved by the tumor contrast of our probe and the sub-millimetric optical resolution of the system which leads to a precise delineation.
The Fluoptics solution allows visualizing metastasis as small as 300µm, far beyond what the experienced eye can see in surgery.

The fluorescence of the Fluoptics probes is excited by light in the far red wavelengths and is emitted in the near infrared wavelengths. The eye can barely see this kind of light. An optimized filtering technique allows performing fluorescence imaging in the near-infra red while the examined area is simultaneous illuminated in visible light of high quality deprived of near infra red.

Fluoptics focused on developing a light weight system which can easily be adapted to most of the laboratories and surgical rooms. The probe provides its own illumination and does not require any adaptation of the environment. The cost of this system is at least 10 times cheaper than classical molecular imaging devices.