3D parallel-detection microwave tomography for clinical breast imaging

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Imaging
• Electromagnetics

Background:

• Microwave tomography offers non-ionizing 3D imaging potential for medical applications.
• Previous systems faced limitations in speed, packaging, and performance for clinical translation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a re-engineered biomedical microwave tomography system with enhanced 3D imaging capabilities for clinical application.
• To improve data acquisition speed, system performance, and overall diagnostic accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Hardware updates and electronic network reconfiguration for streamlined packaging.
• Upgraded data acquisition and microwave components for increased speed and wider bandwidth.
• Modified monopole antenna array with independent sub-array motion for volumetric data acquisition.

Main Results:

• Data acquisition time reduced to 5.8 seconds per fixed array position/frequency.
• Achieved a dynamic range >110 dB across 500-2900 MHz with measurement deviations <0.33% amplitude and <0.5° phase.
• Demonstrated accurate 3D dielectric property recovery in breast phantoms using in-plane and cross-plane data.

Conclusions:

• The enhanced microwave tomography system is clinically viable, offering improved speed and performance.
• The system's design facilitates full volumetric data acquisition for comprehensive 3D imaging.
• Accurate 3D dielectric property reconstruction shows promise for improved breast cancer detection.