Development of a hand-held TPI system for medical applications

Terahertz pulsed imaging (TPI) is an emerging modality for medical applications. TPI uses pulses of electromagnetic radiation covering a frequency range of 0.1-3 terahertz. These frequencies are nonionizing, provide submillimeter resolution and penetrate several millimeters into tissue. We have developed a fiber coupled hand held TPI scanner for use in medical imaging. We report on preliminary studies using the system in dermatological applications. This study demonstrates the potential of TPI to image skin and encourages further studies in using the system as a surgical aid for identifying tumor margins.