Ultra-wideband microwave image reconstruction via FDTD with PML boundary condition for early breast cancer detection

A study of the Ultra-Wideband (UWB) microwave imaging via the finite difference time domain method (FDTD) with perfectly matched layer absorption boundary condition (PML ABC) for detecting the early malignant tumor in the human breast is presented. In this study, the principle of the microwave imaging is presented in detail. The tumor detection in a two dimensional breast model with dispersive characteristic properties of the breast organisms is numerically carried out. The PML ABC developed in our computing system meets the criterion of the correct boundary setting very well. The reconstructed breast image shows that a 6 mm tumor which is assumed embedded in the breast is identified successfully by the antenna array made up of 3 transmitters and 4 receivers.