Multilaser Head for Optoelectronic Mammoscope

Abstract

Transillumination, introduced more than fifty years ago, involves putting a visible infrared beam of light through a breast to create shadow images. Unfortunately high losses of optical power caused mostly by high scattering of human breast tissue make the tumor diagnosis based on visible image analysis insufficient. Hence there are many research groups trying to solve the problem of imaging in tissue [1], [2], [3]. One way given by scientists from the City University of New York [4] is based on separation of transmitted and scattered light by the use of short light pulses. This method is so far very promising but also very costly, mostly because a high speed detection system is used. On the other hand the optoelectronic mammoscope based on the idea of computer analysis of shadow images for two wavelengths can be useful as a tool for seeking specific transmission properties of healthy and cancerous breast tissue [5]. The multilaser head is an important component of such a mammoscope. The head has also a special shape which allows it to press against the breast thus diminishing the light path in highly scattering tissue.