Bruce Tromberg Hot Topics presentation: Diffuse Optical Methods for Assessing Breast Cancer Chemotherapy
Presented at SPIE Photonics West 2014
In his talk, "Diffuse Optical Methods for Assessing Breast Cancer Chemotherapy," SPIE Fellow Bruce Tromberg (Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic) describes a method combining frequency domain photon migration, essentially a method of tracking photon motion in tissue, with a NIR spectroscopy technique using 850nm LEDs. The result is a scatter corrected absorption spectra. The technique takes advantage of elevated blood and water levels and decreased lipid levels in the presence of tumors to provide a more accurate mapping of the breast, allowing more effective treatment.
Tromberg's team recently completed their first full mapping of the breast and have taken the instrument from a standalone unit to a portable one suitable for travel. In addition to providing feedback to enhance breast cancer treatment, Tromberg expects that this technique will be applicable in treating other forms of cancer as well.
Tromberg is the Director of the Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic (BLI) at the University of California, Irvine (USA) and principal investigator of the Laser Microbeam and Medical Program (LAMMP), an NIH P41 National Biomedical Technology Center in the BLI.
