Monitoring recovery after laser surgery of the breast with optical tomography: a case study

• Published in: Applied optics (2004) 2005-04, Vol.44 (10), p.1898-1904
• Main Authors: Hebden, Jeremy C, Yates, Tara D, Gibson, Adam, Everdell, Nicholas, Arridge, Simon R, Chicken, Dennis W, Douek, Michael, Keshtgar, Mohammed R S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Algorithms; Breast Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Breast Neoplasms - surgery; Female; Fibroadenoma - diagnostic imaging; Fibroadenoma - pathology; Fibroadenoma - surgery; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted - methods; Laser Therapy - methods; Prognosis; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Tomography, Optical - methods; Treatment Outcome; Ultrasonography
• ISSN: 1559-128X
• DOI: 10.1364/AO.44.001898

Results are presented of a study to monitor the changes in the optical properties of breast tissue over a 12-month period after interstitial laser photocoagulation treatment of a fibroadenoma. The study involved generating cross-sectional images of the breast with a multichannel time-resolved imaging system and a nonlinear image reconstruction algorithm. Images of the internal absorbing and scattering properties revealed the expected initial inflammatory response, followed by the development of low-scattering cysts consistent with corresponding ultrasound examinations. Although results indicate that purely qualitative images can potentially provide clinically valuable data, means of enhancing diagnostic information by overcoming present limitations of the approach are discussed.