Discrimination of Breast Lesions Using Ultra-wideband Microwave Imaging

Current techniques for breast imaging which include X-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and ultrasound are able to locate breast lesions with high sensitivity but the discrimination between benign and malignant masses is still not clinically acceptable. As a result, biopsies are performed but majority of the lesions are confirmed to be benign. The proposed research explores the use of ultra-wideband (UWB) microwave imaging to improve the specificity of breast cancer detection. The primary objective is to explore the influence of lesion morphology on the backscatter microwave signature at each sensor of the imaging apparatus, which is of potential use for differentiation between benign and malignant tissues. Furthermore, backscatter experiment using an antenna array, radio frequency measurement hardware and associated physical breast phantoms developed at the University of Bristol will be carried out to verify the theoretical results.