Breast deformation modelling for image reconstruction in near infrared optical tomography

Near infrared tomography (NIR) is a novel imaging technique that can be used to reconstruct tissue optical properties from measurements of light propagation through tissue. More specifically NIR measurements over a range of wavelengths can be used to obtain internal images of physiologic parameters and these images can be used to detect and characterize breast tumour. To obtain good NIR measurements, it is essential to have good contact between the optical fibres and the breast which in-turn results in the deformation of the breast due to the soft plasticity of the tissue. In this work, a tissue deformation model of the female breast is presented that will account for the altered shape of the breast during clinical NIR measurements. Using a deformed model of a breast, simulated NIR data were generated and used to reconstruct images of tissue absorption and reduced scatter using several assumptions about the imaging domain. Using either a circular or irregular 2D geometry for image reconstruction produces good localization of the absorbing anomaly, but it leads to degradation of the image quality. By modifying the assumptions about the imaging domain to a 3D conical model, with the correct diameter at the plane of NIR measurement, significantly improves the quality of reconstructed images and helps reduce image artefacts. Finally, assuming a non-deformed breast shape for image reconstruction is shown to lead to poor quality images since the geometry of the breast is greatly altered, whereas using the correct deformed geometry produces the best images.