Compact fiber-free parallel-plane multi-wavelength diffuse optical tomography system for breast imaging

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Optics
• Medical Imaging
• Optical Physics

Background:

• Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) is a promising imaging modality for breast cancer detection and monitoring.
• Existing DOT systems can be complex and costly, limiting widespread clinical adoption.
• There is a need for a compact, user-friendly, and cost-effective DOT system for breast imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and fabricate a compact multi-wavelength diffuse optical tomography system for breast imaging (compact-DOTB).
• To evaluate the system's performance using phantom studies and breast cancer patient data.
• To demonstrate the potential of compact-DOTB for monitoring neoadjuvant chemotherapy response.

Main Methods:

• Developed a fiber-free, parallel-plane compact-DOTB system with 56 micro-LED sources (3 wavelengths: 660, 750, 840 nm) and 56 optical sensors.
• Acquired 3,136 source-detector measurements per wavelength in continuous-wave mode.
• Evaluated system performance through breast-sized phantom experiments and clinical studies on breast cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Main Results:

• The compact-DOTB system demonstrated good reconstruction positioning accuracy and recovery contrast in phantom studies.
• Quantitative results from patient studies showed the system can detect changes in breast functional tissue components after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
• The fiber-free design simplified operation and maintenance while ensuring channel consistency.

Conclusions:

• The compact-DOTB system is a viable tool for 3D breast imaging, offering clinical applicability.
• The system shows potential for monitoring treatment response in breast cancer patients, particularly after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
• Its competitive cost and ease of operation make it a practical alternative to existing breast-DOT devices.