Noninvasive in vivo tomographic optical imaging of cellular morphology in the breast: Possible convergence of microscopic pathology and macroscopic radiology

Abstract

This article presents a pilot study of multispectral diffuse optical tomography for noninvasively imaging volume fraction and mean size of cellular scattering components in the breast. Cellular morphology images for a total of 14 cases ͑four malignant breast and ten benign lesions͒ were obtained. Analyzing the images based on the pathological findings of the cases studied, we found that light scattering in the breast was contributed from both the nucleus and organelles such as mitochondria and nucleolus. Based on the image analysis of these 14 cases, we found that the differences in the mean size and volume fraction between the malignant and benign lesions are significant. The contrast ratio of the average mean size and volume fraction between malignant and benign lesions were calculated to be 3.38 and 2.63. These initial results suggest that cellular mean size and volume fraction may be two new criteria that could be used to differentiate malignant from benign lesions.

Optical tomography of breast cancer—monitoring response to primary medical therapy

“…A 2008 paper by Li et al [49] has reported significant differences in the mean size and volume fraction of cellular scattering components between benign and malignant lesions. The calculated global averages for malignancies are [HbT]=(65±34) µM and SO 2 =(66±24) % (from ten published studies) [45].…”

Two-step reconstruction method using global optimization and conjugate gradient for ultrasound-guided diffuse optical tomography

“…Based on clinical data, a significant contrast ratio in the mean cellular size and the volume fraction between malignant and benign lesions has been found. 5,6 Accordingly, malignant tissues have shown increased mean values of the reduced scattering coefficients in comparison with the benign tissue. [7][8][9][10] Simultaneous reconstruction of absorption and scattering distributions of human breast has also been investigated.…”

“…DOT has demonstrated clinical potential for distinguishing benign from malignant breast lesions. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Two of the estimated optical parameters used to characterize malignant and benign breast tissues are the absorption and scattering coefficients. By estimating these parameters that are obtained from multiwavelength imaging systems, it is possible to quantify tissue constituents such as oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin, lipid and water concentrations, as well as structural parameters, which are linked to the dimensions and densities of the scattering centers.…”

Morphologic tomography of nonspherical particles using multispectral diffusing light measurements

“…Optical imaging techniques are promising candidates for such purpose since they are noninvasive and relatively inexpensive. [1][2][3][4][5] The basic idea is to analyze the spectrum of scattered light in order to extract morphologic information regarding the particles involved. In Ref.…”