XAI-PSSGAN: Perception-Enhanced Spectrum Shift Generative Adversarial Network with Explainable AI System for NIR-II Fluorescence Molecular Imaging

Fluorescence imaging in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II) facilitates the real-time optical contrast for in vivo biomedical imaging. However, the detection noise is an inevitable byproduct of the real-time imaging process. Additionally, fluorescent probes currently approved for clinical use remain limited within the wavelength of NIR-IIa (1000–1300 nm). NIR-IIb (1500–1700 nm) imaging has the potential to deliver higher resolution than NIR-IIa, but relies on toxic fluorescent probes not approved for human use. To support clinical high-precision imaging, we propose a NIR-II fluorescence enhanced imaging method based on perception-enhanced spectrum shift generative adversarial network with explainable AI systems (xAI-PSSGAN). The proposed method tackles the problem of limited unpaired data training, and generates NIR-IIb resembling images with enhanced resolution and reduced noise. Experimental results demonstrate that proposed method effectively improves the imaging quality and surpasses competing alternatives, which is of great significance to promote the high-quality NIR-II imaging in clinical practice.