SBIR Phase II: Optical Diffusion Tomography in Frequency Domain by the Elliptic Systems Method

Medical Optical Imaging Inc, Charlotte NC

Investigators

Abstract

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project builds upon the concepts developed in the Phase I grant to develop a clinical prototype of an optical mammography device that could be used for breast cancer screening or diagnosis. The major technical obstacles to the development of an optical mammography device have been the need for imaging algorithms that are fast and accurate in the presence of scattered light, and for developing measurement techniques that can collect enough photons in a safe and timely way to develop an accurate image. Phase I demonstrated the technical feasibility of a new approach to the algorithms and hardware. The software objectives of this project involve testing an approach to compute inclusion absorption coefficients, modifying the software to directly locate inclusions without transformation and developing a 3-D and GUI interface. Hardware objectives include developing a clinical prototype that would be safe and appropriate for imaging human subjects and calibrating and testing the hardware/software device on experimental data.