Portable near-infrared diffusive light imager for breast cancer detection

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Abstract
Frequency-domain near-infrared optical tomography systems have been widely used to study optical properties of breast cancers in vivo.1 2 3 In the Optical and Ultrasound Imaging Laboratory at the University of Connecticut, we are developing a hybrid imager that combines optical tomography and conventional ultrasound for breast cancer detection.4 5 The ultimate goal of our studies is to establish a method that is more accurate and efficient than conventional x-ray mammography for breast cancer detection and diagnosis, for assessing cancer treatment, and for monitoring cancer recurrence. The combination of ultrasound with optical imaging provides complementary diagnostic information. The acoustic property of a simple cyst can be well distinguished from that of a tumor, while the local blood volume and blood oxygenation can be related to tumor malignance. In addition, using high-resolution ultrasound images to guide optical imaging reconstruction can partly solve the ill-posed problem and lead to more accurate reconstructed values.6 7 As a similar idea, combination of optical imaging with MRI for small animal imaging has been reported recently.8 9 Our clinical experiments at the University of Connecticut Health Center and Hartford Hospital have been successful, but we do feel the need to update the optical imager we built two years ago. First of all, it is heavy and bulky, which makes the transportation to multiple clinical locations difficult. Second, we used electronic switching for the light sources. Because the laser diodes need a certain time period to stabilize after switching, the data acquisition time was about 8 sec for one scan. In general, three scans at lesion locations and at reference locations are necessary for checking patient motion and for calculating averages. To reduce the size, weight, and data acquisition time, we designed and built a completely new optical imager.

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