The failure to accurately define tumor margins during breast conserving surgery (BCS) results in a 20% re-excision rate. The present paper reports the investigation to evaluate the potential of terahertz imaging for breast tissue recognition within the under-explored 300 - 600 GHz range. Such a frequency window matches new BiCMOS technology capabilities and thus opens up the opportunity for near-field terahertz imaging using these devices. To assess the efficacy of this frequency band, data from 16 freshly excised breast tissue samples were collected and analyzed directly after excision. Complex refractive indices have been extracted over the as-mentioned frequency band, and amplitude frequency images show some contrast between tissue types. Principal component analysis (PCA) has also been applied to the data in an attempt to automate tissue classification. Our observations suggest that the dielectric response could potentially provide contrast for breast tissue recognition within the 300 - 600 GHz range. These results open the way for silicon-based terahertz subwavelength near field imager design, efficient up to 600 GHz to address ex vivo life-science applications.

No abstract

No abstract

Breast Cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancer diseases worldwide, and the most common invasive tumour for women. As with all cancers, early detection plays a major role in reducing the mortality and morbidity rate. Currently, most breast cancers are detected due to clinical symptoms, or by screening mammography. The limitations of these techniques have resulted in research of alternative methods for imaging and detecting breast cancer. Apart from this, it is essential to define precise tumour margins during breast-conserving surgeries to reduce the re-excision rate. This study presents the advances in the development of a silicon-based THz sub-wavelength imager usable in life science applications, especially for tumour margin identification.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of spectroscopy and imaging tools, using a previously-unexplored (0.2- 1.4) terahertz range, for investigating tumors in human tissue and distinguishing between malignant and benign cancer cells. One advantage of this technique is that terahertz radiation in this frequency range passes through human tissue without causing ionization or any negative effects To assess the effectiveness of this band of frequencies, THz data were collected from 10 different fresh breast tissue samples, extracted directly after excision. The optical properties were investigated at a range of low frequencies and THz imaging revealed good contrast between the different types of fresh tissue. Observations indicated that the optical and electrical properties in the low-frequency (0.3-0.5) range provided accurate information about breast cancer tissue. These results demonstrated the effectiveness of the technique up to 0.5 THz for ex vivo studies in medical applications.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract