About this Research Topic
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an emerging alternative treatment option for many diseases. It has much less side effects compared to conventional therapies due to targeted light illumination and preferential accumulation of photosensitizers. However, PDT has not found widespread applications at the clinic mainly due to variable responses that originated from unstandardized treatment protocols such as different light and photosensitizer doses. Novel imaging and spectroscopic techniques can quantify PDT-dosimetry related parameters such as local light and photosensitizer dose in tissue and PDT response related parameters such as tissue oxygenation and blood flow noninvasively, thereby provide real-time feedback about the treatment efficacy. Recent advances in algorithm and instrumentation development have allowed clinical translation of optical imaging from bench to bedside. This research topic will highlight these developments with clinical translation perspective. It will detail imaging and spectroscopic approaches that can provide quantitative PDT dosimetry metrics and biomarkers for assessing the therapy response at the clinical settings. Overall this research will impact on spatially and temporally optimization of the PDT dose on an individual basis and improve therapeutic efficacy and patient outcome.
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