The best information on cancer tumor metabolism and immunology can be derived by analyzing tumors at a molecular level. While current imaging technology provides wonderful data on structural features (bones and organs), it does not yield detailed, high resolution images of the molecular features of a tumor because of their location deep beneath the skin
Following the invention at Dartmouth of a novel high-resolution, deep-tissue, imaging application, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) funding will be used by Principal Investigator Brian Pogue 
to further develop whole body scanning of concentrations in the sub-microMolar range. The new approach uses thin sheets of MegaVolt x-ray from a linear accelerator (LINAC), shaped by a multileaf collimator, to induce Cherenkov excitation of luminescence for scanned imaging (CELSI). Ultimately, a commercial prototype will be created.
