Optical Imaging of the Breast: Basic Principles and Clinical Applications.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this article is to summarize the physical principles, technology features, and first clinical applications of optical imaging techniques to the breast. CONCLUSION: Light-breast tissue interaction is expressed as absorption and scattering coefficients, allowing image reconstruction based on endogenous or exogenous contrast. Diffuse optical spectroscopy and imaging, fluorescence molecular tomography, photoacoustic imaging, and multiparametric infrared imaging show potential for clinical application, especially for lesion characterization, estimation of cancer probability, and monitoring the effect of neoadjuvant therapy.