@inproceedings{7787653922b74bc199ffb65b248eee5b,
title = "Measurement of fluorescent probes concentration ratio in the cerebrospinal fluid for early detection of Alzheimer's disease",
abstract = "The pathogenic process of Alzheimer's Disease (AD), characterized by amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, begins years before the clinical diagnosis. Here, we suggest a novel method which may detect AD up to nine years earlier than current exams, minimally invasive, with minimal risk, pain and side effects. The method is based on previous reports which relate the concentrations of biomarkers in the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) (Aβ and Tau proteins) to the future development of AD in mild cognitive impairment patients. Our method, which uses fluorescence measurements of the relative concentrations of the CSF biomarkers, replaces the lumbar puncture process required for CSF drawing. The process uses a miniature needle coupled trough an optical fiber to a laser source and a detector. The laser radiation excites fluorescent probes which were prior injected and bond to the CSF biomarkers. Using the ratio between the fluorescence intensities emitted from the two biomarkers, which is correlated to their concentration ratio, the patient's risk of developing AD is estimated. A theoretical model was developed and validated using Monte Carlo simulations, demonstrating the relation between fluorescence emission and biomarker concentration. The method was tested using multi-layered tissue phantoms simulating the epidural fat, the CSF in the sub-arachnoid space and the bone. These phantoms were prepared with different scattering and absorption coefficients, thicknesses and fluorescence concentrations in order to simulate variations in human anatomy and in the needle location. The theoretical and in-vitro results are compared and the method's accuracy is discussed.",
keywords = "Alzheimer, concentration measurements, CSF, Concentration ratio, Fluorescence, Monte Carlo, Optical scattering, Phantoms experiments",
author = "Osnat Harbater and Israel Gannot",
year = "2014",
doi = "10.1117/12.2039043",
language = "English (US)",
isbn = "9780819498533",
series = "Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging - Proceedings of SPIE",
publisher = "SPIE",
booktitle = "Optical Biopsy XII",
note = "Optical Biopsy XII ; Conference date: 04-02-2014 Through 05-02-2014",
}