Non-Invasive Optical Detection of Breast Cancer
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Pathologists routinely examine thin sections of surgically removed tissue in order to diagnose cancer. If similar information could be provided by techniques that allow us to see inside the body, physicians could locate tumors non-invasively. Historically, this reasoning led to the development of "breast diaphanography", a near-infrared (NIR) light imaging method introduced nearly 70 years ago to locate and identify breast cancer. NIR imaging is a simple, low-cost, risk-free procedure which, unlike x-ray mammography, does not employ ionizing radiation. Unfortunately, the initial promise of NIR diaphanography was never realized, primarily due to the effect of intense light scattering. Scattering blurs our ability to find small, buried, light-absorbing tumors much in the same way that a cloud obscures our view of an airplane passing overhead. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Distinguishing between absorption and scattering is generally recognized as the principal limitation to detecting breast cancer with light. This problem has puzzled scientists who study how light interacts with highly scattering (turbid) materials for hundreds of years. Recent developments in theory and instrumentation, collectively referred to as "Photon Migration", now enable us to probe and analyze multiply-scattered light signals on an ultra-fast time scale, e.g. a millionth of a millionth of a second. These technological advances provide, for the first time, a simple framework for measuring the exact magnitude of absorption and scattering (i.e. optical properties) in turbid materials. Optical properties can, in turn, be used to locate and identify physiological changes characteristic of tumors. The purpose of this grant is to gather data essential to determining whether NIR breast imaging is truly feasible. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 We have been involved in the development of Photon Migration (PM) instrumentation and theory for the past six years. Research by our group and many others in the Biomedical Optics community has rejuvenated interest in optical methods for breast cancer detection. The use of ultra-fast light provides new information with the same advantages as conventional diaphanography (e.g. low cost, zero risk, and compact devices). However, in order to demonstrate whether normal and malignant structures can actually be resolved using light, reliable measurements of breast tissue optical properties must be performed in human patients. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Few studies have been completed which accurately measure human tissue optical properties, primarily due to the fact that PM is still an experimental technology. As a result, the essence of the proposed work is to use our specially designed, portable, hand-held PM probe to measure optical properties in breast cancer patients. This will provide critical information for determining whether non-invasive "optical mammography" is truly feasible. In addition, by measuring unique tumor optical signatures in patients, we expect to gain important insight into physiological changes associated with malignancy, disease progression, and response to therapy.