The Optical Pharmacokinetic System (OPS) is an elastic-scattering spectroscopic device that is capable of
detecting changes in hemoglobin saturation in tissue in vivo. This measurement is important to the field of
photodynamic therapy (PDT) because it may be possible to use knowledge of tissue oxygen concentration to
improve treatment effect. The OPS measures a 'bulk' signal that is representative of the total tissue volume
sampled optically. This measurement may not be sensitive to the presence or development of small, non-uniform
hypoxic regions within tissue, and therefore, the clinical relevance of such a measurement is not well understood.
This study utilizes mathematical models to investigate the sensitivity of the OPS to chronic hypoxic regions
that exist in tumor tissue at steady state and acute hypoxic regions caused by PDT-induced damage. A Monte
Carlo model of light propagation is used to emulate the measurement of tissue by the OPS. Tissue geometry is
constructed to mimic the tumor microvascular environment, with discrete blood vessels interspersed throughout.
A finite element-based transport model is used to describe spatial distributions of oxygen, reactive oxygen species,
and hemoglobin saturation throughout the tissue at steady state and following the PDT reaction. PDT-induced
damage is estimated and used to approximate the effect of vascular damage on tissue oxygen concentration,
thereby simulating acute hypoxia. The volume-averaged hemoglobin saturation measured by the OPS shows
potential to identify the presence hypoxic vessels in the chronic case. However, results suggest that the clinical
utility of the OPS to detect PDT-induced hypoxia may be limited.
Effective photodynamic therapy depends on an adequate supply of photosensitizer, oxygen, and light fluence.
During light exposure, the rapid depletion of molecular oxygen within tissue can lead to the development of
hypoxic regions, which decreases the generation of reactive oxygen species and can result in non-uniform tissue
necrosis. The Optical Pharmacokinetic System (OPS) is a fiber-optic based spectroscopy device that may be able
to monitor local tissue oxygen concentrations during treatment and identify problematic hypoxic regions in vivo.
However, the 'bulk' signal detected by the OPS is potentially limited in its ability to discern the development
of small hypoxic regions within tissue. This study employs a Monte Carlo simulation of the elastically-scattered
light as measured by the OPS to investigate the effect of heterogeneous chromophore distributions on the detected
signal. The model tissue geometry is constructed to mimic tissue in vivo, with discrete capillaries interspersed
throughout. Tissue optical properties are specified spatially, allowing investigation of heterogeneous chromophore
distribution. Simulations investigate the effect that discrete, highly absorbing regions within a measured sample
have on the light collected by the OPS. Simulations also consider OPS measurement of a sample with a depth-dependent
chromophore concentration gradient and quantitate the ability of the OPS to detect the presence of
a sub-population of hypoxic vessels within a network of oxygenated vessels.
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