MRI guided spectroscopy of tissue has been shown in both animals and humans. The interrogation of tissue with diffuse NIR light allows transmission over 8-10 cm of tissue, and spectroscopy and image resolution which is governed by the MR image. This abstract reviews the hardware required and how image-guidance might be used to localize the optical spectroscopy. The implementation is demonstrated in human breast cancer imaging, with full breast field of view, and demonstrates the ability to quantify haemoglobin levels in centimeter sized regions. When used in rodent imaging with injected fluorescent agents, image resolution can be millimeters in region size, and uptake and clearance of agents can be quantified. They key issue in this tracking of fluorescent molecular contrast agents it to identify the minimum region size and contrast level which is quantifiable reliably. However, once quantified, this paradigm allows molecular spectroscopy guided by MRI, and could allow receptor based imaging given appropriate contrast agents that are known to target to tumor-specific ligands. The use is reviewed, and the future potential discussed.
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