Conformal microwave imaging for breast cancer detection

An important feature of our Gauss-Newton iterative scheme for microwave breast image reconstruction is that only the heterogeneous target zone within the antenna array is represented using the finite-element method, while the surrounding homogeneous coupling medium is modeled with the boundary-element (BE) method. The interface between these two zones may be arbitrary in shape and position with the restriction that the BE region contains only the homogeneous coupling liquid. In this paper, we demonstrate through simulation and phantom experiments, as well as in patient examinations, that the detection of tumor inclusions can be enhanced as the target zone approaches the exact breast perimeter. It is also shown that central artifacts that often appear in the reconstructed images that may potentially confound the ability to distinguish benign and malignant conditions have also been reduced.