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 18F and 90Y 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 18F-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.