Electro-biomechanical breast phantom for hybrid breast imaging

The fabrication of an electro-biomechanical breast phantom for testing microwave-mechanical hybrid systems designed for breast imaging is presented. The presented breast phantom is designed to emulate both the electrical and mechanical properties of the human breast tissues. A material that has electrical and mechanical properties equal to those of the soft human breast tissues is manufactured using simple low-cost substances. The measured electrical and mechanical properties of the phantom are in good agreement with the properties of the real breast tissues. The presented phantom is vital for validating strain imaging techniques that relies on the contrast in both of the dielectric and mechanical properties between the healthy and cancerous breast tissues.