High re-excision rates in breast conserving surgery call for a new intraoperative approach to the lumpectomy specimen evaluation problem. The unique intraoperative photoacoustic screening (iPAS) system, presented here, demonstrated the capability of photoacoustic tomography (PAT) to deliver optical sensitivity and specificity, along with over 2 cm imaging depth, in a true clinical setting. Highly specialized acoustic transducers enabled the evaluation of tumor extent, shape, morphology and position within lumpectomy specimens measuring up to 11 cm in diameter. Comparison with conventional ultrasound (US) and x-ray imaging validated the performance of iPAS. This approach shines a light towards more effective soft tissue abnormality assessment.
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