# Imaging Core

> **NIH NIH P01** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2022 · $202,324

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The Imaging Core (Core B) provides centralized imaging support to all levels of this Program Project grant, from
small animals to human imaging. The Core combines resources from the Small Animal Imaging Facility in
Radiology, the Matthew J Ryan Veterinary School of Medicine and the Center for Precision Surgery to create a
facility with state-of-the-art instrumentation, and dedicated faculty and staff to apply NIR optical imaging to
intraoperative pulmonary surgery. The Core will focus on developing and implementing back table imaging
protocols for fluorescence imaging of tumors in situ and in surgical specimens. The goals are to improve co-
registration of fluorescence images with histopathology, accurately determine tumor margin detection and detect
micrometastases, secondary tumor deposits and cancerous lymph nodes. We will apply these techniques to
pulmonary tumor resections, bronchoscopies, and lymph node specimens. In addition, Core B will provide
imaging support to both large animal (canine) and small animal (mouse) components of this program to aid in
the translation of the new novel targeted imaging agents into the operating theater in patients with pulmonary
cancers. Part of the mission of the Core is to refine tissue processing protocols in order to co-register macro
and microscopic tissue images between surgical images and pathology. In doing so we will compare the
sensitivity and resolution of different imaging platforms and determine the sensitivity of NIR imaging and the
depth of detectable fluorescence. The Core facilitates testing of new imaging cameras, calibrating against
fluorescent standards and phantoms, and benchmarking to existing clinical and preclinical imaging scanners.
Our goal is to establish a paradigm bridging surgical imaging and pathology for the establishment of an optical
biopsy for precise detection of margins in the operating theater. These advances will improve the surgical
management and prognosis of lung cancer patients.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10333069
- **Project number:** 1P01CA254859-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** EDWARD J DELIKATNY
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $202,324
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-06-16 → 2027-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10333069

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10333069, Imaging Core (1P01CA254859-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10333069. Licensed CC0.

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