Photobleaching-insensitive fluorescence diagnostics in skin and brain tissue

In this paper, we investigate the possibility of using accurate prediction models for the prediction of protoporphyrin bleaching dynamics to achieve photobleaching-insensitive methods to improve the evaluation of data in an existing clinical fluorescence-guided resection technique. To simulate the scenario, measurements were carried out in vivo on skin of healthy volunteers using a compact fiber-based fluorescence spectroscopy system. We have developed an effective method for the parameterization of sequences of bleaching spectra. We analyze convergence and decay rates with respect to initial conditions and excitation irradiance. We also discuss the consequences and the potential for bleaching-insensitive measurements and their applicability in a few examples from in vivo open brain surgery.