Development of a Multi-modal Sensor for in vivo Monitoring of Tumor Oxygen Dynamics

A multi-modal sensor has been developed for noninvasive, real time, in vivo monitoring of oxygen intake, consumption and blood flow dynamics in tumor tissue during ischemia-reperfusion. The sensor head integrated a near infrared tissue oximeter for tissue oxygen saturation and hemoglobin concentration measurement, a laser Doppler for blood flow measurement, and an electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscope (EPRS) for oxygen tension measurement. The sensor has been tested on athymic NU/NU mice with xenograft pancreatic cancer implanted on right legs. Ischemia-reperfusion was introduced by physical ligation of the femur artery. Preliminary results demonstrated technical feasibility of simultaneous tissue oxygen and blood flow measurements. Further data analysis is on the way.