Analysis of Phase and Time Jitter of Various Electronically Modulated Near Infra-Red Optical Waveforms for Deep Breast Tissue Imaging

Abstract

: Breast Cancer is a second deadly cancer disease and more than 2 million new cases are being reported annually in recent years. Early diagnosis and mass screening is validated as an effective tool for better disease management. Development of non-invasive affordable first level screening techniques is required for efficient mass screening. The proposed system consists of a near infra-red optical transmitter connected with signal modulator and receiver coupled with a demodulator mechanism. A modulated optical waveform provides deep tissue details by high tissue penetration. The constant signal wave form generator and signal oscilloscope were connected for wave generation and measurement. The optical waveform is digitally modulated by eight modulation techniques at the transmitter side and demodulated at the receiver side. The normal spot and cancerous spot of the breast phantom model are placed in the path of optical transmitter and the reflected signal is received by the receiver prior to demodulation. Phase Jitter, Time Jitter and 3dB noise level were measured from the received signal for the normal as well as cancerous spot of the breast phantom. The difference of phase and time jitter between normal and cancerous spot is observed. There is no significant variation is observed in the 3dB noise level. Phase and time jitter variation among different modulation techniques is provided. The results are indicative that the proposed method can be used for breast imaging as a first in-line imaging tool for mass screening. Also the proposed system can be utilized along with ultrasonography as a hybrid imaging modality.