New optics and photonics treatments, detection methods for breast cancer help lower the risks

BELLINGHAM, Washington, USA -- New treatments and earlier detection are helping to lower the risks of breast cancer, one of the most frequently occurring cancers and a major cause of death in women worldwide. During October -- observed around the world as Breast Cancer Awareness Month -- SPIE salutes all those working toward a cure, in particular those whose work in the science and application of light is helping to improve detection and treatment of the disease.

SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, organizes several regular international events where photonics experts present their latest work in technologies and applications for cancer detection and treatment:

• SPIE Photonics West, where developers of new instruments and devices for cancer detection show their latest tools and systems in a major exhibition, and conferences such as one on Optical Tomography and Spectroscopy of Tissue  chaired by Bruce Tromberg (Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, University of California, Irvine) and Eva Marie Sevick-Muraca (University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston) include technical sessions on breast cancer imaging and therapies.
• SPIE Medical Imaging, an international forum covering underlying principles of imaging as well as clinical evaluation, chaired by Nico Karssemeijer (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen Medical Center) and Ehsan Samei (Duke University), including hundreds of papers advancing imaging to detect cancer and other tissues abnormalities.
• SPIE/OSA European Conferences on Biomedical Optics, a key European event bringing together scientists, engineers, and clinicians working in biomedicine. General chairs in 2011 were Christoph Hitzenberger (Medical University of Vienna) and Brian Pogue (Dartmouth University).

This year, a new monograph published by SPIE titled Diagnostic and Therapeutic Applications of Breast Imaging details advances in detection techniques such as mammography, ultrasound, computed tomography, and the relatively new Biofield Diagnostic System, among others. The book is edited by Jasjit Suri and Vinitha Sree (Biomedical Technologies), Kwan-Hoong Ng (University of Malaya Medical Center), and Rangaraj Rangayyan (University of Calgary).

A special section on diffuse optics for imaging in the July issue of the Journal of Biomedical Optics presented new research on noninvasive technologies for imaging breast and other issues, and includes an open access tutorial paper on medical imaging using diffuse optics from the Tromberg group at University of California, Irvine. Special section guest editors are Stefan Andersson-Engels (Lund University) and Peter Andersen (Technical University of Denmark).

SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. The Society serves nearly 225,000 constituents from approximately 150 countries, offering conferences, continuing education, books, journals, and a digital library in support of interdisciplinary information exchange, professional growth, and patent precedent. SPIE provided over $2.7 million in support of education and outreach programs in 2011.

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