New ‘infrared vision’ technique can help with cancer immunotherapy

The original study can be found here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-019-0262-4

Abstract:

> The near-infrared-IIb (NIR-IIb) (1,500–1,700 nm) window is ideal for deep-tissue optical imaging in mammals, but lacks bright and biocompatible probes. Here, we developed biocompatible cubic-phase (α-phase) erbium-based rare-earth nanoparticles (ErNPs) exhibiting bright downconversion luminescence at ~1,600 nm for dynamic imaging of cancer immunotherapy in mice. We used ErNPs functionalized with cross-linked hydrophilic polymer layers attached to anti-PD-L1 (programmed cell death-1 ligand-1) antibody for molecular imaging of PD-L1 in a mouse model of colon cancer and achieved tumor-to-normal tissue signal ratios of ~40. The long luminescence lifetime of ErNPs (~4.6 ms) enabled simultaneous imaging of ErNPs and lead sulfide quantum dots emitting in the same ~1,600 nm window. In vivo NIR-IIb molecular imaging of PD-L1 and CD8 revealed cytotoxic T lymphocytes in the tumor microenvironment in response to immunotherapy, and altered CD8 signals in tumor and spleen due to immune activation. The cross-linked functionalization layer facilitated 90% ErNP excretion within 2 weeks without detectable toxicity in mice.

This seems similar to the IR/near-IR tech under development by 'Openwater', making non-invasive medical imaging tech that may soon offer live high-resolution imaging of the brain:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k879MFfB_3Q

(Openwater seems to be using sonic pings & massive computing, rather than nanoparticles of a specific element, to achieve contrast at various depths.)

How strange.. I was just reading a paper about the same sort of thing: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30890547

I bet this is already being pushed by chiropractors as a supportive argument for thermograms to justify ripping off more people that are afraid of radiation.

Fascinating!