Combining x-ray and photoacoustics for in vivo tumor imaging with gold nanorods

We have demonstrated a new hybrid cancer imaging method combining x-ray and photoacoustic imaging with multifunctional gold nanorods as contrast agents. The two imaging modalities provide complementary contrast mechanisms. X-ray imaging exploits the high attenuation coefficient of gold nanorods, while photoacoustic imaging takes advantage of the strong optical absorption of the nanorods. The fused image has presented both location and vasculature of the tumor. Our experimental results demonstrate that this combined modality has the capability to provide anatomical and functional information of tumor for accurate medical diagnosis and imaging-guided therapy. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3643033]