| WARF: P04338US |  |
| Surface Identification Using Microwave Signals for Microwave-Based Detection of Cancer |
| INVENTORS | • | Essex Bond, Susan Hagness, Barry Van Veen |
OVERVIEW
The inventors previously developed a novel imaging technique for detecting
breast cancer (see WARF reference number P01386US). This technique makes use of
the sharp contrast in dielectric properties between breast carcinomas and normal
tissue at microwave frequencies. Like most microwave-based breast imaging
algorithms, it relies upon knowledge of the location of the breast surface
relative to the transmitting and receiving antennas; however, this location is
unknown a priori and varies from patient to patient. This invention
provides a data-adaptive algorithm that uses reflected microwave signals to
estimate the location of the skin-breast interface relative to the antenna
locations. This approach is based on geometric principles and the fact
that the impedance mismatch at the skin-breast interface results in significant
backscatter. First, a matched filter is applied to the backscattered signal in
each antenna channel to determine the propagation time from the antenna to the
skin-breast interface. The propagation time locates the interface on a circle
with a known radius. The breast surface is assumed to be convex and tangent to
the circle. A tangent point, which defines the intersection of the circle and
breast surface, is determined for each antenna by assuming that the circles
centered at adjacent antennas intersect the same tangent line. The resulting set
of tangent points from the antenna locations is fit with a curve, which defines
the breast-skin interface.
KEY BENEFITS
- Provides an estimate of the location of the breast surface, which is needed to account for propagation effects in high-performance lesion detection and imaging algorithms
- Works with the imaging technique described in WARF reference number P01386US
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Related Technologies
Intellectual Property Status
Tech Fields
Medical Imaging & Radiation Therapy - Other diagnostic imaging
CONTACT INFORMATION
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