Time-Domain Approach to Microwave Imaging for Breast Cancer Detection

Abstract

<p>Current imaging modalities used for breast cancer detection are unreliable and insufficient for society’s needs. Microwave imaging for breast cancer detection has the potential to safely and accurately detect breast tumors at a relatively low cost. The main driving force for using microwaves to detect breast tumors is the observation that, at microwave frequencies, the dielectric permittivity and the conductivity of tumors are sufficiently different from those of normal breast tissue to enable imaging and detection. This project focuses on the use of a high-speed digital oscilloscope, which has become available only recently. It can capture pulses of bandwidth up to 20 GHz in order to further examine the abilities of an ultra wideband, near-field microwave imaging system for breast cancer detection in real time-domain measurements. The Vector Network Analyzer also contains a time-domain option offering a synthesized time-domain approach. These instruments enable the time-domain measurement, rather than the more common frequency-domain measurement, of the transmitted waves that result from illuminating breast-mimicking phantoms with ultra wideband microwave pulses. The project includes the fabrication of the appropriate breast- and tumor-mimicking phantoms used in experiments. Time-domain simulations as well as two different experimental setups are performed. The dielectric properties of breast tissue and tumors, the used breast phantoms, some characteristics of the TEM horn antenna, the simulation setup and results as well as the experimental setup and results are presented.</p>