We report the development of an instrument for diffuse spectral imaging of the human breast operating over the
wavelength range 650-900 nm. This instrument images the slightly compressed human breast in a planar geometry by
performing a tandem scan, over the x-y plane, of a 3 mm illumination optical fiber and a 5 mm collection optical fiber
that are collinear and located on opposite sides of the breast. An edge-correction algorithm accounts for breast thickness
variability over the x-y plane, a second-derivative imaging algorithm enhances the display of optical inhomogeneities,
and a paired-wavelength spectral method yields oxygenation maps. We report our results of oxygenation mapping in
eighteen human subjects, two of which are breast cancer patients, one with a ductal carcinoma in situ, the other with an
invasive ductal carcinoma.
We developed a hybrid continuous-wave/frequency-domain instrument to obtain both spatial and spectral information of
the female breast. The two-dimensional (2D) tandem planar scanning of a compressed breast enables a pixel size of 2×2 mm2 and a continuous spectra acquisition from 650 nm to 900 nm at every image pixel with a 0.5 nm spectral step. A
2D spline interpolation algorithm is implemented to increase the data sampling rate and reduce the pixel size to 0.5×0.5 mm2. We then apply an edge-correction method to compensate the signal change due to the breast thickness
variation. The resulted optical density image is further processed using a previously developed second-derivative
algorithm to enhance the contrast and improve the spatial resolution of the optical inhomogeneities within the breast
tissue. The finer structures displayed in the second-derivative image offer better identification of the pixels of interest
associated with significant hemoglobin presence. We then employ a novel paired-wavelength oximetry method to
determine the absolution value of oxygen saturation for those identified pixels of interest. We found the majority of
oxygen saturation values from two healthy human subjects fall within the range 60%-95%, which is consistent with
previously published results. Breast oximetry could have a potential applicability toward breast cancer detection and
diagnostics and this novel paired-wavelength method can be a robust and accurate way to retrieve the oxygenation
information in vivo.
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