Light provides a mechanism for remotely sensing the biochemical and biophysical processes of the body. Current clinical methods of optical remote sensing include optical coherence tomography, mid-IR absorption spectroscopy, and florescence spectroscopy (often combined with flow cytometry). In collaboration with researchers at Duke University, we are applying yet another method, diffuse light scattering, to the determination of cancer margins in breast tissue.

An Optical Spectral Imaging System for Rapid Imaging of Breast Tumor Margins

is an NIH-sponsored Bioengineering Research Partnership between Duke University and the University of Wisconsin.*

Each year, over 180,000 women with breast cancer undergo breast-conserving surgery (BCS) to remove an invasive or non-invasive malignancy. Currently, analysis of the excised tumor by a pathologist or radiologist is required to determine the efficacy of the surgery. (Even so, re-excision surgery is required in some 20-70% of the cases.) At present there is no widely available intra-operative tool to ensure complete removal of a breast tumor during BCS. Prof. Ramanujam (now at Duke University) has developed an automated image analysis approach to determine margin positivity in an intra-operative setting. The underlying principle on which the device operates is diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The broad goal of this Bioengineering Research Partnership (BRP) is to develop and validate a novel miniature spectral imaging system for diffuse reflectance spectroscopy that is designed to work within the constraints of the intra-operative setting.

*Partners include Prof. Ramanujam (Duke University, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering); Profs. Brooke and Jokerst (Duke University, Dept. of Electrical Engineering); Drs. Geradts and Wilke (Duke University Medical School); Prof. Kuech (Dept. of Biological & Chemical Engineering, University of Wisconsin); and Prof. McCaughan (Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin).