Deep Optical Imaging of the Breast, DOIT-B

Optical imaging (OI) encompasses a range of techniques using near-infrared and visible light to generate molecular, morphologic, and functional information, examining e.g. absorption and scattering properties of tissues. The spatial resolution with OI has been limited by the strong light scattering properties of tissue.

OI has hence been held back from clinical translation, because of limited ability to image deeper structures.

Photoacoustics (PAI) and ultrasound optical tomography (UOT), that we propose to test, may overcome this hurdle.Aim: to prepare and evaluate two deep optical imaging methods for clinical use in the breast (DOIT-B project) for future introduction of molecular imaging in the clinic to distinguish benign and malignant tissue and monitoring treatment response.In a team with diagnostic radiology, atomic physics and engineering expertise we plan in silico, ex vivo and in vivo experiments in two work packages (WP):WP1: A-E: Preparing and testing multi-wavelength PAI for clinical translation in breast (Year 1-2) and proof-of concept studies (Year 3-5)WP2: A-G: Performing technical adaption and evaluation of wavelengths suitable for UOT in breast (Year 1-3) followed by a clinical evaluation and proof-of concept studies (Year 4-5)Our project may move molecular imaging into practise, moving away from ionizing radiation and invasive biopsies to minimize risks for the individual patient.

Furthermore, OI may be a game-changer in treatment response evaluations.