Near Infrared Imaging Group

The Near Infrared (NIR) imaging group is based at the Thayer School of Engineering, at Dartmouth College, and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

The laboratory studies advanced methods to complete tissue spectroscopy with Near-Infrared light transmission through tissue.

One of the major applications for this type of imaging is for breast cancer characterization using near-infrared light. The combination of highly sensitive light measurements with advanced computed tomography algorithms can provide molecular information about the tissue diagnostically.

Imaging can be done with endogenous molecules or exogenous contrast agents, and a major focus is on fluorescence imaging of endogenously generated protein Protoporphyrin IX..

This research program is currently supported by a network of program grants, and individual research grants from the National Institutes of Health.