Abstract
A common strategy to study breast cancer is the use of the preclinical model. These models provide a physiologically relevant and controlled environment in which to study both response to novel treatments and the biology of the cancer. Preclinical models, including the spontaneous tumor model and mammary window chamber model, are very amenable to optical imaging and to this end, we have developed a wide-field functional imaging (WiFI) instrument that is perfectly suited to studying tumor metabolism in preclinical models. WiFI combines two optical imaging modalities, spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) and laser speckle imaging (LSI). Our current WiFI imaging protocol consists of multispectral imaging in the near infrared (650-980 nm) spectrum, over a wide (7 cm x 5 cm) field of view. Using SFDI, the spatially-resolved reflectance of sinusoidal patterns projected onto the tissue is assessed, and optical properties of the tissue are determined, which are then used to extract tissue chromophore concentrations in the form of oxy-, deoxy-, and total hemoglobin concentrations, and percentage of lipid and water. In the current study, we employ Monte Carlo simulations of SFDI light propagation in order to characterize the penetration depth of light in both the spontaneous tumor model and mammary window chamber model. Preliminary results suggest that different spatial frequency and wavelength combinations have different penetration depths, suggesting the potential depth sectioning capability of the SFDI component of WiFI.
Highlights
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide and the most common cancer specific to women
In 2009, an estimated 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and an estimated 40,610 American women will die from the disease[1]
It is clear that breast cancer is a major health issue both in the United States and worldwide and as a result, much effort has been put into studying breast cancer
Summary
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide and the most common cancer specific to women. The use of the preclinical model is an invaluable tool in the study of breast cancer. Two notable preclinical models are the transgenic spontaneous tumor model[4] and the mammary window chamber model[5]. The incision is covered with a glass or plastic window that is sutured to the skin This model allows for direct visualization of the underlying tissue and these models have been frequently been used to study the microvasculature. While we were able to successfully monitor tumor hemodynamics, we were unsure of what tissue depth the optical information we acquired was originating from To this end, the current study reports on the use of Monte Carlo simulations of light propagation to get a first-order approximation of the depth of tissue being probed in both the spontaneous and mammary window chamber tumor models
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