Joint analysis of non-concurrent magnetic resonance imaging and diffuse optical tomography of breast cancer

We have developed a novel method for combining non-concurrent MR and DOT data, which integrates advanced multimodal registration and segmentation algorithms within a well-defined workflow. The method requires little user interaction, is computationally efficient for practical applications, and enables joint MR/DOT analysis. The method presents additional advantages: More flexibility than integrated MR/DOT imaging systems, The ability to independently develop a standalone DOT system without the stringent limitations imposed by the MRI device environment, Enhancement of sensitivity and specificity for breast tumor detection, Combined analysis of structural and functional data, Enhancement of DOT data reconstruction through the use of MR-derived a priori structural information. We have conducted an initial patient study which asks an important question: how can functional information on a tumor obtained from DOT data be combined with the anatomy of that tumor derived from MRI data? The study confirms that tumor areas in the patient breasts exhibit significantly higher total hemoglobin concentration (THC) than their surroundings. The results show significance in intra-patient THC variations, and justify the use of our normalized difference measure defined as the distance from the average THC inside the breast, to the average THC inside the tumor volume in terms of the THC standard deviation inside the breast. This method contributes to the long-term goal of enabling standardized direct comparison of MRI and DOT and facilitating validation of DOT imaging methods in clinical studies.