Construction of a near infrared fluorescence system for blood flow imaging of biological tissues

Background: Intraoperative real-time imaging of tissue or blood vessels has certain technical advantages for surgical procedures. But due to various reasons, this technology has not been popularized. Objective The purpose of this study is to construct an equipment to apply Indocyanine Green Video Angiography (ICGVA) technology to many practical clinical works. Methods ICG was injected into bilateral renal pelvises of the 10 male rabbits and the images of the ureter and bladder were captured. ICG was injected into the ear vein of the other 10 male rabbits, and the images of small intestine were captured. Results Through this equipment, we obtained visible light image, near-infrared fluorescence image, and fusion image of the ureter, bladder and intestine. Conclusion We constructed and optimized a set of portable and flexible vascular and tissue fluorescence imaging equipment. This equipment can be used for animal experiments, determination of the degree of trauma and intraoperative tissue localization and navigation.