"Time domain diffuse optics for probing deep tissues: physics, instrumentation and application to breast cancer"

Abstract:

Diffuse optics can be used for the non-invasive optical characterization of highly diffusive media, such as biological tissues, in depth. Its spectral application provides an in vivo estimate of tissue composition (water, lipids, collagen) and functional blood parameters (blood volume and oxygenation), together with information on the microscopic structure of the tissue.

The potential of the technique will be highlighted by describing the underlying physical principles, its implementation in the time domain and, as an example, its use for breast cancer management (non-invasive diagnosis, monitoring and prediction of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and estimation of cancer risk due to high breast density).

Bio:

Paola Taroni is full Professor of Physics at Politecnico di Milano (Milan, Italy) since 2011, and was Head of the PhD Program in Physics in 2013-2018. Co-author of more than 140 scientific papers on international peer-reviewed journals (Scopus H-index: 48). Her research activity concerns mainly the development of photonics systems operating in the time domain and their diagnostic applications in biology and medicine, including time domain diffuse optical spectroscopy and imaging, with special focus on breast cancer management (diagnostics, risk assessment, therapy monitoring), and previously time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging for medical diagnostics and microscopy.