FDTD based EM modeling and analysis for microwave imaging of biological tissues

Breast cancer affects many women and early detection is important. The microwave imaging technique can play a vital role in the detection of breast tumor than X-ray mammography and other techniques. The basis of the microwave imaging technique for breast cancer detection and location is the significant contrast in the scattered electromagnetic signals that depends on the dielectric properties of normal and malignant tissues at microwave frequencies. Malignant tissues exhibit higher dielectric properties than normal breast tissues, especially at high frequencies. We have conducted a simulation study to find out the resolution of the microwave imaging using FDTD technique. In this paper, a Finite Difference Time Domain method is applied to investigate the presence and location of the buried object in a phantom material. The investigation considers a phantom formed by a spherical container filled with material whose permittivity and conductivity are similar to those of normal and abnormal tissues. The study shows that the E field variation in different dielectric mediums can be used for the detection of abnormality.