A light torch for the transillumination of female breast tissues.

The breast can be examined by transillumination with white light. The tissues transmit more light in te red and infrared part of the spectrum than in the blue. Images of the breast are normally recorded on colour infrared film. An alternative to photography is the use of a television camera sensitive to the near infrared, which can demonstrate lesions on a monitor in real time. This paper examines the limitations of the type of light torch used in recent investigations and describes a new version which should permit detection and imaging of smaller lesions.