Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-1-2004

Publication Title

Journal of Biomedical Optics

Department

Thayer School of Engineering

Additional Department

Geisel School of Medicine

Abstract

Near-infrared imaging was used to quantify typical values of hemoglobin concentration, oxygen saturation, water fraction, scattering power, and scattering amplitude within the breast tissue of volunteer subjects. A systematic study of the menstrual variations in these parameters was carried out by measuring a group of seven premenopausal normal women (aged 41 to 47 years) in the follicular (days 7 to 14 of the cycle) and secretory phases (days 21 to 28) of the cycle, for two complete menstrual cycles. An average increase in hemoglobin concentration of 2.6 μM or 13% of the background breast values was observed in the secretory phase relative to the follicular phase (p<0.0001), but no other average near-infrared parameter changes were significant. While repeatable and systematic changes were observed in all parameters for individual subjects, large intersubject variations were present in all parameters. In a survey of thirty-nine normal subjects, the total hemoglobin varied from 9 to 45 μM, with a systematic correlation observed between total hemoglobin concentration and breast radiographic density. Scattering power and scattering amplitude were also correlated with radiographic density, but oxygen saturation and water fraction were not. Images of breast lesions indicate that total hemoglobin-based contrast can be up to 200% relative to the background in the same breast. Yet, since the background hemoglobin values vary considerably among breasts, the maximum hemoglobin concentrations observed in cancer tumors may vary considerably as well. In light of these observations, it may be important to use hemoglobin contrast values relative to the background for a given breast, rather than absolute hemoglobin contrast when trying to compare the features of breast lesions among subjects.

DOI

10.1117/1.1691028

Original Citation

Pogue BW, Jiang S, Dehghani H, Kogel C, Soho S, Srinivasan S, Song X, Tosteson TD, Poplack SP, Paulsen KD. Characterization of hemoglobin, water, and NIR scattering in breast tissue: analysis of intersubject variability and menstrual cycle changes. J Biomed Opt. 2004 May-Jun;9(3):541-52. doi: 10.1117/1.1691028. PMID: 15189092.

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