Three-dimensional microwave tomography: experimental prototype of the system and vector born reconstruction method

Area of Science:

• Electromagnetics
• Medical Imaging
• Computational Physics

Background:

• Three-dimensional (3-D) microwave tomography is crucial for non-invasive imaging.
• Reconstructing images in weak dielectric contrast scenarios presents significant challenges.
• Existing methods often require complex field component analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a new image reconstruction method for 3-D microwave tomography.
• To address the challenges of weak dielectric contrast in tomographic imaging.
• To demonstrate the capability of a prototype 3-D microwave tomographic system.

Main Methods:

• Developed a 3-D microwave tomography image reconstruction method utilizing a single component of the vector electromagnetic field.
• Constructed a prototype 3-D microwave tomographic system operating at 2.36 GHz with a code-division technique.
• Compared direct problem solutions with experimentally measured field distributions within a cylindrical chamber (z=40 cm, d=60 cm).

Main Results:

• Successfully reconstructed images of 3-D mathematical phantoms using the developed method.
• The prototype system achieved measurements of up to 120 dB attenuation with a signal-to-noise ratio of approximately 30 dB.
• Experimental imaging tests validated the performance of the tomographic system and reconstruction method.

Conclusions:

• The developed method offers a viable approach for 3-D microwave tomography, particularly in weak dielectric contrast cases.
• The prototype system demonstrates practical applicability for imaging 3-D objects.
• This work contributes to advancing non-invasive 3-D imaging technologies.