Performance evaluation of in-place calibration in microwave imaging for breast cancer detection

Abstract

Microwave imaging systems for breast cancer detection require calibration process to separate tumor response from measured data. In-place calibration can obtain the calibrated signal with a single measurement. We modeled 4 types of heterogeneous breast phantom. Microwave imaging was conducted using in-place calibration with heterogeneous breast phantoms. The tumor was found well with breasts which have spread-out fibroglandular tissues and mostly fatty tissues. However, tumors in the breasts with dense and concentrated fibroglandular tissues could not be found. The results show that not only the amount of fibroglandular tissues but also the form of fibroglandular tissues affects the restored imaging. © 2016 European Association of Antennas and Propagation.