Spatio-temporal imaging of the hemoglobin in the compressed breast with diffuse optical tomography

We develop algorithms for imaging the time-varying optical absorption within the breast given diffuse optical tomographic data collected over a time span that is long compared to the dynamics of the medium. Multispectral measurements allow for the determination of the time-varying total hemoglobin concentration and of oxygen saturation. To facilitate the image reconstruction, we decompose the hemodynamics in time into a linear combination of spatio-temporal basis functions, the coefficients of which are estimated using all of the data simultaneously, making use of a Newton-based nonlinear optimization algorithm. The solution of the extremely large least-squares problem which arises in computing the Newton update is obtained iteratively using the LSQR algorithm. A Laplacian spatial regularization operator is applied, and, in addition, we make use of temporal regularization which tends to encourage similarity between the images of the spatio-temporal coefficients. Results are shown for an extensive simulation, in which we are able to image and quantify localized changes in both total hemoglobin concentration and oxygen saturation. Finally, a breast compression study has been performed for a normal breast cancer screening subject, using an instrument which allows for highly accurate co-registration of multispectral diffuse optical measurements with an x-ray tomosynthesis image of the breast. We are able to quantify the global return of blood to the breast following compression, and, in addition, localized changes are observed which correspond to the glandular region of the breast.