Time-resolved white light transillumination for optical imaging

Purpose: To describe a new breast-imaging method with the potential of multi-spectral optical transillumination based on a time-resolved technique. Material and Methods: A breast phantom was irradiated with ultra-short laser pulses of white light generated by self-phase modulation of an incident high-power laser pulse in water. Time-resolved detection of the transmitted light was performed. Contrast resolution was studied using different absorbers located inside the breast phantom. Results and Conclusion: The results showed that simultaneous, multi-spectral transillumination is possible. The technique can also be used for measurements of optical properties in tissue