U.S. scientists say they're trying to determine if a NASA imaging technique can predict radiation therapy tissue damage experienced by breast cancer patients.

The Rush University Medical Center and Argonne National Laboratory researchers said the imaging technique -- called three-dimensional thermal tomography -- is used by NASA to inspect the space shuttle. The scientists are examining the utility of the technology for use in radiation oncology.

Rush University Professor Dr. Katherine Griem said approximately 80 percent of breast cancer patients undergoing radiation treatment develop acute skin reactions that range in severity.

The study's goal is to determine if the NASA imaging technology can measure the thermal effusivity of skin tissue -- a measure of its ability to exchange heat with its surroundings.

"Our initial data with radiation induced skin changes are quite encouraging," said Dr. Alan Coon, chief resident of radiation oncology at Rush and primary author of the study. "In addition to finding decreases in effusivity of the treated areas many days before the development of skin reactions, we have also seen that the magnitude of these decreases varies with the grade of the reactions. This exciting result bodes well for the clinical utility of this technique in predicting the severity of a skin reaction before it occurs."

Preliminary study results are being displayed during the American Society for Radiation Oncology's annual meeting this week in Chicago.