Diffuse Optical Tomography of the Breast: Initial Validation in Benign Cysts

Purpose The purpose of this study was to validate a newly developed diffuse optical tomography (DOT) system on benign cysts in the breast. Procedures Eight patients with 20 benign cysts were included. Study procedures consisted of optical breast imaging and breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for comparison. A reconstruction algorithm computed three-dimensional images for each of the four near-infrared wavelengths used by our DOT system (Philips Healthcare, Best, The Netherlands). These images were combined using a spectroscopic model to assess tissue composition and lesion size. Results Twenty cysts were analyzed in eight patients. By using the spectroscopic information, 13 of 20 cysts (65%) were visualized with DOT, confirming their high water and low total hemoglobin content. Lesion size and location showed good agreement with MRI; Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.7 (p < 0.01). Conclusions DOT can visualize benign cysts in the breast and elucidate their high water and low total hemoglobin content by spectroscopic analysis.