Development and Testing of a Single Frequency Terahertz Imaging System for Breast Cancer Detection

Abstract

The ability to discern malignant from benign tissue in excised human breast specimens in Breast Conservation Surgery (BCS) was evaluated using single frequency terahertz radiation. Terahertz (THz) images of the specimens in reflection mode were obtained by employing a gas laser source and mechanical scanning. The images were correlated with optical histological micrographs of the same specimens, and a mean discrimination of 73% was found for five out of six samples using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. The system design and characterization is discussed in detail. The initial results are encouraging but further development of the technology and clinical evaluation is needed to evaluate its feasibility in the clinical environment.

Biomedical Applications of Terahertz Spectroscopy and Imaging

“…Taking pathological biopsy as the gold standard for reference, THz in vitro imaging has been extensively applied in digestive system [54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64], integumentary system [65,66], reproductive system [67][68][69][70], respiratory system [57], and nervous system [49] neoplasms. Frozen sections [54,56], formalin fixations [57], and paraffin sections [67] have typically been applied as specimen pretreatment processes to overcome the strong water absorption loss.…”

Terahertz refractive index-based morphological dilation for breast carcinoma delineation

“…The pathologist draws the contour of malignant areas based on his/her expertise. From the interpretation of the pathologist, the images were binarized and each pixel was classified either as benign or as malignant 51 .…”

Infrared and terahertz in biomedicine

“…THz imaging for human breast cancer diagnostics is now less advanced as compared to thermography, and further development of the technology and clinical examination are needed to evaluate its feasibility in the clinical environment [66]. Also, when carrying out THz breast cancer diagnostics, it should be taken into account the power level of radiation that can be harmful for living objects as THz diagnostics is mainly possible for active vision systems.…”