Development of a bioluminescence tomography system using phase measurement profilometry surface reconstruction

As a widely utilized imaging modality in preclinical studies, bioluminescence tomography (BLT) relies on precise surface reconstruction to provide essential boundary constraints. This study presents a BLT system for <i>in vivo</i> small animal imaging that integrates phase measurement profilometry (PMP) to achieve accurate 360° surface reconstruction. The accuracy of surface reconstruction was validated using a cylindrical phantom and live mice. Compared to the multimodal X-ray computed tomography/bioluminescence tomography (CT/BLT) system, the proposed PMP-BLT system demonstrated equivalent performance in tumor localization and tumor size quantification within orthotopic lung cancer models, while offering advantages of non-ionizing radiation, low cost, and rapid acquisition.