Singlet oxygen (¹O₂) is generally believed to be the major cytotoxic agent during photodynamic therapy (PDT), and the reaction between ¹O₂ and tumor cells define the treatment efficacy. From a complete set of the macroscopic kinetic equations which describe the photochemical processes of PDT, we can express the reacted ¹O₂ concentration, [¹O₂]_rx, in a form related to time integration of the product of ¹O₂ quantum yield and the PDT dose rate. The production of [¹O₂]_rx involves physiological and photophysical parameters which need to be determined explicitly for the photosensitizer of interest. Once these parameters are determined, we expect the computed [¹O₂]_rx to be an explicit dosimetric indicator for clinical PDT. Incorporating the diffusion equation governing the light transport in turbid medium, the spatially and temporally-resolved [¹O₂]_rx described by the macroscopic kinetic equations can be numerically calculated. A sudden drop of the calculated [¹O₂]_rx along with the distance following the decrease of light fluence rate is observed. This suggests that a possible correlation between [¹O₂]_rx and necrosis boundary may occur in the tumor subject to PDT irradiation. In this study, we have theoretically examined the sensitivity of the physiological parameter from two clinical related conditions: (1) collimated light source on semi-infinite turbid medium and (2) linear light source in turbid medium. In order to accurately determine the parameter in a clinical relevant environment, the results of the computed [¹O₂]_rx are expected to be used to fit the experimentally-measured necrosis data obtained from an in vivo animal model.

Date Published: 18 February 2009
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 7164, Optical Methods for Tumor Treatment and Detection: Mechanisms and Techniques in Photodynamic Therapy XVIII, 71640O (18 February 2009); doi: 10.1117/12.809024

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7164:
Optical Methods for Tumor Treatment and Detection: Mechanisms and Techniques in Photodynamic Therapy XVIII
David H. Kessel, Editor(s)