Odyssey M イメージングシステム

Having long been fascinated by the interaction of light with molecules and tissues, Dr. Kimberley Samkoe uses fluorescence imaging to provide microscopic molecular information that can be interpreted at a macro-scale for applications in oncology. As Principal Investigator at the Samkoe Lab in the Center for Imaging Medicine in the Thayer School for Engineering at Dartmouth College, she is motivated to create highly sensitive, specific, and quantitative fluorescence imaging methodologies that aim to streamline clinical procedures such as surgical resection and therapeutic decision-making.

Dr. Samkoe and her lab have used the Odyssey CLx Imaging System extensively in their research for over a decade, and now use the Odyssey M for imaging freshly excised tissue sections, fixed-cell based assays, pathology slide imaging, In-Cell Western assays, and Western blots.

The Samkoe Lab’s research goal is to develop quantitative clinical methodologies to improve clinical decision-making around surgical resection and molecular-targeted therapy. These include fluorescence imaging methodologies that will streamline surgical resection of cancerous tissue by utilizing fluorescent Affibody molecules, which are rapidly taken up by tissue of interest and cleared by normal tissue. This results in suitable contrast within hours, allowing imaging and surgical resection to take place on the same day.

Currently, their research focuses on developing fluorescence guided surgery applications of single-agent and paired-agent methodologies in pre-clinical and clinical applications, as well as studying receptor occupancy and therapeutic response of cancers to a variety of molecular therapeutic agents.

The lab uses the Odyssey M in their research for in vitro live cell assays to assess fluorescent molecular targets, and In-Cell Western™ assays to validate live cell molecular imaging and to detect changes within cellular signaling pathways. Additionally, they extensively image fluorescence molecular targets in fresh, fresh-frozen, and fixed tissues at a macroscopic scale.

Dr. Kimberley Samkoe

One of the biggest challenges her lab has faced is in the alignment of fluorescent images with RGB Truecolor images of thinly sectioned (4-7 mm) fresh frozen, formalin fixed, and pathologically stained tissues. The limitations of instruments unable to image visible and near-infrared fluorescence in addition to white-light or RGB Truecolor imaging in the same orientation and resolution underly this challenge.

The ability of the Odyssey M to image in many fluorescent and RGB Truecolor combinations improves their imaging procedures and helps meet this challenge. Samkoe’s lab can collect both fluorescent and RGB Truecolor images on fresh tissue and on pathological slides using both the epi- and trans-illumination functions. The capability of the Odyssey M to image at a range of resolutions—5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 µm—increases their ability to detect residual cancer in both fixed and fresh tissue.