Breast Cancer Screening: Impact of Antenna Array Configurations on Microwave Imaging Quality

Microwave imaging (MWI) is a promising non-invasive technique for breast cancer screening, utilizing differences in dielectric properties between tissues to generate images. This study focuses on developing a robust imaging pipeline to optimize the design of specialized antenna arrays, enhancing measurement efficiency and reducing image reconstruction time. Simulations were conducted in the 1-5 GHz frequency range using a simplified breast model consisting of a single layer of skin surrounding a homogeneous healthy tissue, with a tumor target embedded within the background material. To test our pipeline, we used different antenna distributions for data acquisition. Additionally, we varied the dielectric properties of the background, the number of tumors, and their size and location. To streamline the simulation workflow, the models were built in HFSS, and simulations were processed on Compute Canada's supercomputer, allowing for efficient computation in a short time frame. Images were reconstructed using a delay-and-sum (DAS) radar-based imaging algorithm called MERIT. Metrics such as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and location error were then used to assess image quality. Our preliminary findings indicate that while non-equally spaced antennas show potential for detecting targets near the sensors, equally spaced configurations consistently yield superior image quality. This work lays the groundwork for strategic diagnostic hardware design, aiming to improve MWI accuracy through refined antenna array configurations.