Diffusely scattered femtosecond white-light examination of breast tissue in vitro and in vivo

Multispectral studies of light propagation in female breast tissue have been performed. Short pulses of white light were generated by using self-phase modulation of a high-power laser pulse focused into a cuvette filled with water. The white light pulses illuminated the tissue and the scattered light was recorded with time- and wavelength dispersion by a streak camera. Measurements were performed on breast mastectomies in vitro and measurements on healthy breast tissue in vivo. The reduced scattering coefficient and the absorption coefficient of breast tissue were obtained in different wavelength regions by fitting solutions of the diffusion equation to the experimental data. Significant variations in the magnitude of the optical properties could be seen between the different individuals. No characteristic spectral discrepancy for tumor tissue was found.