Systems for ultra-wideband microwave sensing and imaging of biological tissues

Microwave interrogation of biological tissues involves measuring very weak signals from a highly reflective object. This requires special ways to collect the signals and methodology to improve sensitivity. In the literature, numerous designs for ultra-wideband antennas intended for biological sensing applications have been reported [1-4]. When deploying sensors in prototype systems, an additional level of complexity arises when the system needs to adapt to the human body, which varies in size and shape from patient-to-patient [5]. At the University of Calgary we have developed two different systems targeted to breast imaging using ultra-wideband (UWB) signals [6,7]. Based on our experience in developing these systems and our initial testing with breast cancer patients and volunteers, we identified the need for different approaches to data collection.