Flexible 16 Antenna Array for Microwave Breast Cancer Detection.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Electromagnetics
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Radar-based microwave imaging is a promising technique for breast cancer detection.
• Sensing dielectric property differences in tissues across a wide frequency band is crucial for this application.
• Flexible antennas are desirable for wearable breast cancer detection systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and develop miniaturized, flexible ultrawideband (UWB) antennas for radar-based breast cancer detection.
• To create conformal UWB antenna arrays suitable for bra-like integration.
• To enhance electromagnetic wave penetration into breast tissue for improved imaging.

Main Methods:

• Design of single- and dual-polarization miniaturized flexible monopole and spiral antennas on Kapton polyimide using high-frequency structure simulation.
• Development of flexible conformal 4x4 UWB antenna arrays.
• Utilizing an inhomogeneous multilayer breast model for antenna design and simulation.
• Measurement of antenna impedance matching on curved surfaces.

Main Results:

• Miniaturized flexible antennas (20 mm x 20 mm) designed for 2-4 GHz operation with reflection coefficients below -10 dB.
• Good impedance matching achieved for antennas in various positions and curvatures around the breast.
• Flexible conformal antenna arrays (single and dual polarization) developed.
• Reflector integration improved electromagnetic wave penetration by factors of 3.3 (single polarization) and 2.6 (dual polarization).

Conclusions:

• Miniaturized flexible UWB antennas are suitable for wearable radar-based breast cancer detection.
• Conformal antenna arrays integrated into a bra-like format are feasible.
• The developed antennas and arrays show potential for enhancing the effectiveness of microwave imaging for breast cancer detection.