Point-of-Care Breast Imaging for Monitoring Neoadjuvant Treatment: Case Studies With Transmission-Based Microwave...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Imaging
• Oncology

Background:

• Neoadjuvant chemotherapy requires monitoring treatment efficacy.
• Current monitoring methods may lack sensitivity or convenience.
• Point-of-care imaging offers potential for frequent, quantitative assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a transmission-based microwave imaging system for tracking breast tissue changes during neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
• To assess the system's suitability for point-of-care implementation.
• To determine if microwave imaging can provide feedback on treatment response.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a transmission-based microwave imaging system with planar transmit and receive arrays.
• Scanned both breasts of patients undergoing chemotherapy prior to each cycle.
• Transmitted signals from 0.1 to 8 GHz and estimated tissue permittivity based on signal travel time.

Main Results:

• Presented case studies for 6 patients, comparing bilateral breast scans.
• Observed initial differences in microwave properties related to tumor presence.
• Noted consistent properties in the contralateral breast and dynamic changes in the tumor-affected breast, particularly visible in dense tissue.

Conclusions:

• Demonstrated the potential of transmission-based microwave imaging for monitoring neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
• Highlighted the system's capability to provide regular, quantitative feedback on treatment progress.
• Positioned microwave imaging as a potential alternative to palpation for treatment assessment.