Method of infrared tomography, active and passive, for earlier diagnosis of breast cancer

Abstract

A device and method are disclosed to non-invasively identify a lesion inside a region of living tissue. The region is exposed to medium infrared (MIR) radiation to preferentially heat the lesion The region is then scanned for black body radiation in a medium infrared waveband A lesion, being hotter than the surrounding tissue, is detected as domain of increased local emittance of MIR radiation Further scanning or heating in a second waveband is used to identify a particular class of lesions. The invention is particularly useful for early identification of malignant breast cancer.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

FIG. 1 is of a detector according to a first embodiment of the current invention;

FIG. 2 is an MIR absorbance spectrograph of healthy, benign and malignant breast tissue in a first waveband 1500-1800 cm⁻¹ (λ=6-7 μm);

FIG. 3 is an MIR contrast spectrograph of healthy, benign and malignant breast tissue in a first waveband 1500-1800 cm⁻¹ (λ=6-7 μm);

FIG. 4 a is an MIR absorbance spectrograph of healthy, benign and malignant breast tissue in a second waveband 900-1200 cm⁻¹ (λ=8-11 μm);

FIG. 4 b is an MIR absorbance spectrograph of healthy, benign and malignant breast tissue in a third waveband 1400-1750 cm⁻¹ (λ=6-7 μm);

FIG. 4 c is an MIR absorbance spectrograph of healthy, benign and malignant breast tissue in a fourth waveband 2700-3600 cm⁻¹ (λ=3-4 μm);

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a first embodiment of the current invention;

FIG. 6 a illustrates a second embodiment of a device to identify lesions inside living tissue according to the current invention.

FIG. 6 b is a flowchart illustrating a second embodiment of the current invention.

Claims

1. A non-intrusive method for identifying an anomalous domain under a skin in a region of a patient, comprising the steps of: a) heating the anomalous domain preferentially over healthy tissue;b) measuring an emitted radiation from the anomalous domain as a result of said beating; andc) detecting the anomalous domain based on a result of said measuring.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of heating includes applying infrared radiation in a first waveband to the region.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said first waveband differs from a wave band of said emitted radiation.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step: d) applying an infrared radiation in a second waveband to the region.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein first waveband includes infrared radiation having a wave number 1600-1700 cm−1.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said emitted radiation includes a black body radiation in a medium infrared waveband.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the region includes a portion of the breast of the patient.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of heating is for a predetermined period of time and said step of measuring occurs after said period of time.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said result is a differential measure of said emitted radiation.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said differential measure is a contrast.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step: d) performing a spectral analysis to identify the anomalous domain.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step: d) determining a depth of the anomalous domain.

13. A detector to reveal an anomalous domain under a skin of a region of a patient comprising: a) a lamp configured to beat the region by exposing the skin to MIR radiation;b) a timer for turning off said lamp after a predetermined period of exposure; andc) a MIR sensor for measuring a radiation emitted from the region after heating with said lamp.

14. The detector of claim 12, further comprising: d) a band pass filter to limit the sensitivity of said MIR sensor to a first narrow waveband.

15. The detector of claim 14, further comprising: e) A second MIR sensor for measuring radiation in a second waveband.