Multichannel imaging in the second near-infrared (NIR-II) window offers vital and comprehensive information for complex surgical environments, yet a simple, high-quality, video-rate multichannel imaging method with low safety risk remains to be proposed. Centered at the superior NIR-IIx window of 1400-1500 nm, triple-channel imaging coordinated with 1000-1100 and 1700-1880 nm (NIR-IIc) achieves exceptional clarity and an impressive signal-to-crosstalk ratio as high as 22.10. To further simplify the light source and lower the safety risk, we develop a type of in vivo multichannel imaging-assisted surgical navigation mode at a video frame rate of 25 fps under shadowless lamp excitation and illumination instead of extra excitation light sources. This work provides a reference for real-time, high-imaging-performance multichannel imaging with minimal crosstalk and introduces a practical fluorescence surgical navigation paradigm.
Keywords: NIR-II bioimaging; multichannel imaging; quantum dot; shadowless lamp; surgical navigation.