Fluorescent optical imaging of small animals using filtered back-projection 3D surface reconstruction method

The CCD-based non-contact fluorescent optical imaging has got a promising progress in recent years. This imaging modality needs the 3D surface of the small animal, which is used for the forward model and inverse reconstruction. We propose a new 3D surface reconstruction method based on the back projection method using white/black images. After taking the surface images by CCD, the transverse reconstruction is completed using filter back-projection method. Based on the data of the edges and calibration operation, we reconstruct the 3D surface of the animals. To validate the accuracy of the optical method, we compared the external shape data of mouse phantom to that from the micro-CT system. Some in vivo fluorescence imaging results are also presented in this paper © 2008 IEEE.