Terahertz imaging of breast cancer, a feasibility study

We have developed a portable terahertz pulsed imaging system (TPI) for use in a hospital environment. The system uses photoconduction to generate and detect terahertz with a frequency content from 0.1-4 THz. In this paper, we report on a feasibility study using TPI for imaging tumours of the breast. Several breast samples were imaged and parameters from the time domain impulse functions were used to provide a contrast with good agreement to histology. This preliminary study demonstrates the potential of TPI to image breast tumours and encourages further studies to determine the ability of the technique to discriminate different types of tumour.