A microwave breast imaging system using elliptical uniplanar antennas in a circular-array setup

Microwave tomography has attracted significant research interest as it offers a non-ionizing diagnostic technique for breast cancer. A microwave breast imaging (MBI) system comprises an array of antennas, which illuminates the tissue and measures the scattered energy in order to spatially allocate the dielectric permittivity and conductivity of the tissue. The radiating elements of a MBI system should be compact and wideband. This paper describes an elliptical uniplanar antenna 40 mm × 50 mm in size that operates in the 1.53-3.33 GHz range when placed against a breast phantom. The antenna is used as the radiating element in a circular-array setup around a hemispherical phantom. Simulated and measured data from the proposed array are presented, which show satisfying agreement and system performance.