Abstract

We have investigated the problem of edge effects in laser-beam transillumination scanning of the human breast. Edge effects arise from tissue thickness variability along the scanned area, and from lateral photon losses through the sides of the breast. Edge effects can be effectively corrected in frequency-domain measurements by employing a two-step procedure: (1) use of the phase information to calculate an effective tissue thickness for each pixel location; (2) application of the knowledge of tissue thickness to calculate an edge-corrected optical image from the ac signal image. The measurements were conducted with a light mammography apparatus (LIMA) designed for feasibility tests in the clinical environment. Operating in the frequency-domain (110 MHz), this instrument performs a transillumination optical scan at two wavelengths (685 and 825 nm). We applied the proposed two-step procedure to data from breast phantoms and from human breasts. The processed images provide higher contrast and detectability in optical mammography with respect to raw data breast images.