Breast Imaging: Development of fast imaging system for the detection of breast cancer and therapy monitoring

The goal of the Breast Imaging Project is to design and validate an instrument for rapid optical imaging using digital detection techniques. The breast imager was recently completed, employing digital detection techniques that include multiple digital signal processor (DSP) chips for processing data. Configured in a master-slave architecture, these DSP chips can streamline data collection while minimizing cost, improving scalability, and maintaining low noise levels. Multiple clinical trials have been undertaken at Columbia University with the Breast Imaging system, including a study to evaluate the ability to detecting breast cancer using dynamic optical imaging, a pre-clinical study monitoring early tumor response to anti-angiogenic therapy, and a clinical study monitoring individual patient response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy.