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X-ray cell tracking: from ex-vivo to in-vivo experiments

The capacity to track cells (cell tracking) using x-rays on ex-vivo specimens of both malignant and non-malignant cell lines on small animals has been demonstrated recently. Gold nanoparticles have been used as a cellular contrast agent to render cells visible in x-ray microCT acquisitions. The limits of the technique proposed are basically driven by the imaging system used. Single cell resolution can be achieved using synchrotron radiation in-vitro or ex-vivo samples. Micro-focus x-ray tubes can be used to obtain high resolution cell tracking but with some limitations. However, the translation from ex-vivo to in-vivo experiments is not straightforward. The dose restrictions required for in-vivo longitudinal experiments set severe limitations on the technique. Here we present a detailed investigation showing a significant reduction of x-ray dose for the tracking of brain tumour cells. Monte Carlo simulations have been performed considering different spatial resolutions, photon fluence, number of projections, lesion dimension and cell contrast dilution. The findings are compared with real samples imaged using the same parameters. A pioneering in-vivo experiment conducted at the SYRMEP beamline (Elettra, Basovizza, Italy) is presented here as proof of principle of in-vivo longitudinal x-ray cell tracking experiments on small animals at low x-ray doses.