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Research Expertise and Interests

Dr. Alexander Gorbach has expertise in biomagnetism, inverse problems in electrophysiology and magneto-encephalography, remote sensing, and in vivo functional imaging by optical methods of brain tissues. Most recently, he and his research group have focused on new concepts for real-time intraoperative functional imaging, including assessment of microvascular plasticity, the relationship between vascular stress and tonic responses in vascular segments, optical image-guided resuscitation of organs, and optical imaging to guide targeted drug delivery. In addition, Dr. Gorbach's interests involve studies of thermogenesis and thermoregulation ranging in scale from single cells to intact humans.

Dr. Gorbach's primary research tools are infrared imaging, near-infrared hyperspectral and multispectral functional imaging, laser-speckle imaging, infrared microscopy, and microwave thermometric mapping. All of these tools are passive and do not require any artificial contrast substances, and thus, are much more "friendly" for use in clinical research. In multiple NIH clinical protocols where infrared imaging is already in use, Dr. Gorbach described this technology as an "infrared photography." Additionally, Dr. Gorbach adapts and optimizes software from fields such as atmospheric and planetary science for use in biomedical and clinical image analysis.

With over 18 years of experience in interdisciplinary biomedical research at the NIH, which has focused primarily in the clinical setting, his current collaborations involve cooperative research with scientists and clinicians across the NIH campus and around the world, including work with the Naval Medical Research Center, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and various universities in the U.S. and Europe. Examples include real-time infrared and laser-speckle imaging to assess ex vivo reperfusion of organs intended for transplantation, as well as their intraoperative viability; multispectral optical imaging for functional assessment of cutaneous and subcutaneous tissues; assessment by infrared imaging of brown adipose tissue activation; development of infrared, non-invasive capabilities for detection of mitochondrial dynamics; and infrared imaging microscopy for studies of cellular metabolism.

Future project areas:

• Adaptation of a mid-infrared microscope toward detectability of thermogenesis in single cells for studies of cellular metabolism
• Development of novel imaging approaches to monitor the viability of on-bench cold- and warm-perfused organs (e.g., kidney and heart)
• Quantitative assessment of intraoperative tissue color dynamics
• Functional visualization of individual sweat glands in humans
• Design of intravital microscopy for clinnical applications, including quantification of blood cell dynamics; improved image and spectral acquisition; specialized image processing techniques; and adaptive optics.

For more information on Dr. Gorbach's research, see the LBPS Biomedical Instrumentation and Multiscale Imaging (BIMI) page and associated links.

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Selected Publications

Gorbach AM, Wang H, Wiedenbeck B, Liu W, Smith P, and Elster E. Functional Assessment of Hand Vasculature Using Infrared and Laser Speckle Imaging. Proceedings of SPIE meeting Photonics West 09, Vol. 6, pp. 67169-243, 2008.

Gorbach AM, Wang H, and Elster E. Thermal Oscillations in Rat Kidneys: An Infrared Imaging Study. Phil Trans R Soc, Vol. 366(1880), pp. 3633-47, PMID: 18650199, 2008.

Hanna BV, Gorbach AM, Gage F, Pinto P, Silva J, Gilfillan LG, Kirk AD, and Elster EA. Intraoperative Assessment of Critical Biliary Structures with Visible Range/Infrared Image Fusion. J Am Coll Surg, Vol. 206(3):1227-31, 2008. Epub 2007.

Liu J, Alemozaffar M, Mchone B, Dhanani N, Gage F, Peter A, Pinto P, Gorbach AM, and Elster E. Evaluation of Real-Time Infrared Intraoperative Cholangiography in a Porcine Model. Surgical Endoscopy, Vol. 22(12), pp. 2659-2664, 2008. Epub 2008.

Gorbach AM, Wang H, Dhanani N, Gage F, Smith P, Pinto P, Kirk A, and Elster E. Assessment of Critical Renal Ischemia by Real-time Infrared Imaging. J Surgical Research, Vol. 149(2), pp. 310-18, 2008. Epub 2008.

Vesnin S and Gorbach A. Non-invasive Monitoring of Body Internal Temperature Using a Passive Microwave Radiometer. (abstracts) 2nd International Meeting on Physiology and Pharmacology of Temperature Regulation, Phoenix, AZ, March 3-6, 2006, p. 19, 2006.

Gorbach A, Ntziachristos V, and Perelman L. Advances in Optical Imaging of Cancer. (Invited Chapter) In: New Techniques in Oncologic Imaging, Ed. A. Padhani, P. Choyke, Marcel Dekker, Inc., pp. 351-70, 2006.

Gorbach A. Heiss J, Kopylev L, and Oldfield E. Intraoperative Infrared Imaging of Brain Tumors. J of Neurosurgery, Vol. 101(6), pp. 960-9, 2004.

Gorbach A, Heiss J, Kufta C, Sato S, Fredio P, Kammerer W, Solomon J, and Oldfield E. Intraoperative Infrared Functional Imaging of Human Brain. Annals of Neurology, Vol 54(3), pp. 297-309, 2003.

Gorbach A, Simonton D, Hale D, Swanson S, and Kirk A. Objective, Real-time, Intraoperative Assessment of Renal Perfusion Using Infrared Imaging. American Journal of Transplantation, 3(8):988-93, 2003.

Watson J, Gorbach A, Pluta R, Rak R, Heiss J, and Oldfield E. Real-time detection of vascular occlusion and reperfusion of the brain during surgery by using infrared imaging. J of Neurosurgery, Vol. 96(5), pp. 918-23, 2002.

Anosov A, Bograchev K, Wood B, Passechnik V, Bosnyakov M, Svet V, and Gorbach A. Passive Accoustic Thermo-tomography: Development for Cancer Hyperthermia Therapy. IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging: Macro to Nano, July 7-10, Washington, DC, paper 1495, 2002. 

Lewis E, Gorbach A, Marcott C, and Levin I. High Fidelity, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging of Primate Brain Tissue. Applied Spectroscopy, Vol. 50(2), pp. 263-9, 1996.

Gorbach A, Lewis E, and Levin I. Chemical Mapping of the Brain Using Infrared Spectroscopy. Abstracts of Neuroscience, Vol. 20, Part 1, 298.4, 1994.

Gorbach AM. Infrared Imaging of Brain Function. In: Optical Imaging of Brain Function and Metabolism (ed. U Dirnagl, A Villringer and K Einhaupl) Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, Vol. 333, pp. 95-123, 1993.

Yu A, Kholodov, Kozlov AN, and Gorbach AM. Magnetic Fields of Biological Subjects. Moscow, Nauka, p. 140, 1990.

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