Optical methods and image processing as a quantitative tool in photodynamic therapy: a proof of concept

This paper presents the first results of the combination of optical techniques, through fluorescence images captured by endoscopic techniques, and imaging processing methods to give a quantitative result that will be useful to physicians to observing and following up Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) for liver cancer. The experiment was applied to an animal model using δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) as a photosensitizing agent, red light for the application of PDT, white light for diffuse reflectance and light of 405 nm for the capture of fluorescence photographs with endoscopic procedures on the surface of the liver. As part of the image processing, metrics such as the Euclidean distance were used and the RGB color composition components.