A Comparative Study of Skin Phantoms for Microwave Applications.

In the here-reported study, we investigated the dielectric properties of three different skin-mimicking materials used in the reported controlled experiments for development and testing of microwave-range medical devices. Each of the phantom materials under consideration is tested in two forms: a thicker, larger block and a 2-mm sheet. The measured properties are compared to a reference of human skin tissue measurements from literature.

A Flexible Antenna Array with Integrated Switching Matrix for Breast Cancer Detection.

In this report, we introduce a flexible board combining a custom switching circuit and 16 integrated antennas for a time-domain ultrawideband radar for breast health monitoring in one device. The goal of this study is to assess the suitability of the flexible prototype for tumor detection using carbon-polyurethane experimental breast models and comparing the performance to an earlier prototype with a rigid switching circuit and 16 separate antennas. The flexible antenna array allows direct contact with the patient skin while reducing the number of RF and DC cables needed in the previously reported system.

Microwave Radar for Breast Screening: Initial Clinical Data with Suspicious-Lesion Patients.

We present results of a statistical analysis of patient measurements with a time-domain multistatic microwave radar for early breast cancer detection. The scanned patients varied in age, but all showed a suspicious lesion on a previous breast screening with a mammogram or MRI. We assess the correlation between the signal response of preprocessed data and specific patient attributes.