Patent ID: 7349731

Claim:
A method to produce a reconstructed refractive index spatial map useful for detection of a tumor in tissue comprising the following steps: a. utilizing light in the near-infrared portion of the spectrum as a source of illumination; b. generating observed values representing photon flux by delivering said light in the near-infrared portion of the spectrum to a surface of the tissue to be examined by at least two bundles of source optical fibers; c. detecting scattered photons from said light in the near-infrared portion of the spectrum by at least two bundles of detector optical fibers, said at least two bundles of detector optical fibers being in functional communication with a computer; d. processing the detected scattered photon data received by said computer to generate expected parametric values related to refractive index by means of an algorithm programmed into said computer, wherein said algorithm is based on the solution of: - n c ⁢ ∂ Φ ⁡ ( r , t ) ∂ t + ∇ · D ⁢ ∇ Φ ⁡ ( r , t ) + 2 ⁢ D n ⁢ ∇ n · ∇ Φ ⁡ ( r , t ) - μ a ⁢ Φ ⁡ ( r , t ) = - S 0 ⁡ ( t ) ⁢ δ ⁡ ( r - r 0 ) where Φ=the photon density; n=the refractive index; c=the speed of light in the medium; D=the diffusion; μ a =the absorption coefficient; S 0 =the source strength; δ(r−r 0 ) Dirac delta function at position r 0; e. iteratively comparing said observed and said calculated values related to refractive index until differences between values are non-significant; f. producing an image of the reconstructed refractive image spatial map; and g. evaluating the said spatial map to determine if abnormalities are apparent in the mapped tissue.