Using Near-Infrared Light to Detect Breast Cancer

The idea of using light to non-invasively detect breast cancer hasbeen revisited in the past few years as a result of theoretical and experi-mental advances in optical spectroscopy and imaging of the human breast. Optical imaging benefits from the high optical contrast associated with spatial inhomogeneities in the concentration and oxygenation of blood within the breast, although spatial resolution is lim-ited by the diffusive nature of light propa-gation in breast tissue. Optical imaging is also sensitive to water and lipid concen-tration in breast tissue. The sensitivity to blood concentration, blood oxygenation, water content and lipids accounts for the