Imaging of Early-Stage Breast Cancers Using Pulsed Confocal Microwave Technology
Abstract
We are investigating new low-power confocal microwave technology to detect and image early-stage breast cancers. The new technology exploits the dielectric-property contrasts between normal breast tissues and malignant tumors and surrounding vascularization at microwave frequencies. The tumor-detection system employs a miniaturized, planar pulsed antenna array contacting only one side of the breast. The digital signal processing for the system is founded upon time-shifting and summing of the backscattered waveforms measured at each sensor element according to the assumption that a backscattering center is located at a particular trial point within the breast. The required time shift is the electromagnetic wave propagation delay between the trial point and the sensor element. To first-order accuracy, this delay depends upon the average dielectric properties of the local breast tissues. Patient-specific calibration of the microwave imager requires knowledge of these properties. To this end, this report summarizes the initial development of a two-dimensional inverse-scattering algorithm that permits a noninvasive measurement of the required dielectric properties of the first (skin) layer of the breast.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA385306
Entities
People
- Allen Taflove
- Milica Popovic
Organizations
- Northwestern University