Cerenkov luminescence imaging of human breast cancer: a Monte Carlo simulations study

Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) is a novel molecular imaging technique based on the detection of Cerenkov light produced by beta particles traveling through biological tissues. In this paper we simulated using F-18 and Y-90 the possibility of detecting Cerenkov luminescence in human breast tissues, in order to evaluate the potential of the CLI technique in a clinical setting. A human breast digital phantom was obtained from an F-18-FDG CT-PET scan. The spectral features of the breast surface emission were obtained as well as the simulated images obtainable by a cooled CCD detector. The simulated images revealed a signal to noise ratio equal to 6 for a 300 s of acquisition time. We concluded that a dedicated human Cerenkov imaging detector can be designed in order to offer a valid low cost alternative to diagnostic techniques in nuclear medicine, in particular allowing the detection of beta-minus emitters used in radiotherapy.