Globally, cancer is becoming a major health problem as advances in medicine continue to extend the life spans of our populations. In 2011 alone, there were an estimated 12.7 million new cancer cases diagnosed, 7.6 million cancer related deaths, and 28 million people living with cancer within 5 years of their initial diagnosis [1]. Cancer research is one of the main research topics in health sciences and EU funding alone amounts to 1.1 billion euro between 2007 and 2011. Survival rates are closely correlated with early diagnosis and research on the development and improvement of diagnostic methods is increasing. Common techniques to detect cancer are ultrasound (US), x-ray computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonant imaging (MRI), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET), which visualize areas inside the body with a detection threshold of approximately 1 cm3 for solid tumors.

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The investigations presented in this thesis were performed at the Center for Optical Diagnostics and Therapy, Department of Radiation Oncology, Postgraduate School Molecular Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam. This research was sponsored by IOP Photonic Devices, project: HYMPACT. The publication of this thesis was kindly sponsored by: Erasmus MC, Ocean Optics, Avantes, Polysciences and Shimadzu.
H.J.C.M. Sterenborg (Dick)
Erasmus University Rotterdam
hdl.handle.net/1765/41489
Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam

Gamm, U. A. (2013, October 4). Quantification of Tissue Scattering Properties by Use of Fiber Optic Spectroscopy. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1765/41489