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Dynamic Angiothermography (DATG)

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Application of Infrared to Biomedical Sciences

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Abstract

Dynamic Angiothermography (DATG) is a noninvasive technique for the diagnosis of breast cancer . The instrument consists of a thin plate with liquid crystals that changes color due to a change in temperature, consequently offering an image of breast vasculature . DATG is based on the angiogenesis theory on tumor initiation, development, and growth. A tumor needs new vessels. Therefore, by studying the changes in the pattern of vascular blood supply, it is also possible to diagnose neoplasms very early. In particular, it is shown that every human being has his or her own vascular pattern which, in the absence of disease, does not vary throughout the life time. By repeating DATG periodically, an efficient control of the onset of disease is possible, even in its early stages. This is not new but still little-known technique which is a component of the overall diagnostic techniques for the study and prevention of breast cancer that serves to offer a complete clinical picture of the patient. The great advantages of DATG are: it does not use radiation; it is not invasive or painful; it is low-cost and can be repeated periodically and successfully with no drawbacks. The angiothermographic examination thus makes it possible to visualize the breast vascularity pattern without using contrast medium. On the other hand, while highlighting changes in mammary vascularization, DATG is not able to indicate the size or depth of the tumor; even if recent researches (based on the approximated solution of the inverse Fourier heat equation) show the possibility to evaluate the depth of the tumor. This paper, after the introduction in Sect. 1, starts with a description of historical context in Sect. 2, and outlines the instrumentation in Sect. 3. Section 4 describes the technique, while a comparison with other diagnostic techniques is provided in Sect. 5. To close, Sect. 6 offers a practical guide on the use of this method.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr. Silvio Marino (working at the ANT foundation, Italian National Foundation for Cancer Research and Patient Care) for the information concerning DOBI results and the in vivo dynamic formation of the images by DATG, and Dr. Stefan Boeriu of the University of Santa Barbara (USA) for having kindly revised the English version of the paper. A great thank you to BreastLife, which supported our studies, providing us with the AURA equipment for DATG acquisition .

Lastly, we fondly remember Dr. Daniele Montruccoli, who died prematurely during the course of our research; he was the greatest world expert in DATG and introduced this technique even to the poorest countries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    F. Casali

  2. Enrico Fermi Center, Rome, Italy

    F. Casali, R. Brancaccio, M. P. Morigi & M. Bettuzzi

  3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    R. Brancaccio, M. P. Morigi, M. Bettuzzi & G. Baldazzi

  4. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Bologna, Italy

    R. Brancaccio, M. P. Morigi, M. Bettuzzi & G. Baldazzi

  5. Gynecology and Obstetrics, Bologna, Italy

    F. P. Draetta

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  1. College of Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Eddie YK Ng

  2. Medical Image and Signal Processing Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Mahnaz Etehadtavakol

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Casali, F., Brancaccio, R., Draetta, F.P., Morigi, M.P., Bettuzzi, M., Baldazzi, G. (2017). Dynamic Angiothermography (DATG). In: Ng, E., Etehadtavakol, M. (eds) Application of Infrared to Biomedical Sciences. Series in BioEngineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3147-2_12

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