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.