Inspection of Breast Phantom Layers using UWB Antenna

This research paper investigates into a concept design for a low-cost, innovative, and effective UWB biosensor system that uses monostatic radar-based microwave imaging (RBMI) to find undesirable cancer cells in female breast tissue. The proposed system approach integrates two different designs, which includes a UWB antenna working as a transceiver, and a frequency selective surface (FSS) acting as a reflector. The top view of the proposed ultra-wideband antenna includes a tapered feedline structure, and a key slot-shaped radiating patch, whereas a bottom view of the UWB antenna includes slotted squares defective ground structure that increases its operational bandwidth. Additionally, a Frequency selective surface (FSS) which is placed at the backside of antenna consists of concentric squares and circular ring-like structures. The proposed FSS reflector has total volumetric dimensions of 23×26×1.6 mm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sup> whereas the UWB antenna has a total size of 16×12×1.6 mm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sup> . The proposed UWB antenna has an operating bandwidth of 4.6 GHz to 8.8 GHz, but when this proposed antenna radiates in conjunction with an FSS reflector surface which is placed 10–15 mm away on the antenna's back side, then it is observed that due to the reduction in the UWB antenna's back lobe radiations, the operating frequency range of the same antenna is improved to 4.4 GHz- 10GHz. The proposed FSS structure and UWB antenna both are designed and analyzed on Computer Simulation Technology software (CST 2021). Furthermore, to create a breast tumor imaging setup in the CST environment, an assembly of UWB radiator with FSS reflector is placed at a distance of 15–20 mm from the desired target breast phantom. Moreover, by applying signal processing steps on the received S11 response, malignancy in the tissue can be detected with proper localization of tumor cell. As a result, the proposed biosensor assembly setup of UWB antenna along with FSS reflector is suitable for monostatic radar based microwave imaging.

Proposed to detect benign cancers in the breast is a small UWB antenna. The antenna runs over a range of frequencies from 3.2 GHz - 6.7 GHz measuring 20 x 32 x 1.6 mm3 and featuring a circular resonator permitting omnidirectional radiation with a peak gain= 4.9 dB and radiation efficiency=89.4%. Developed to fit real-life settings, models of three types of breast phantoms—tumor-free, single-tumor, and dual-tumor configurations—each displaying unique dielectric properties for benign and malignant tissues—are shown. S-parameter data from these phantoms enables PCA to separate benign from malignant tissues. Studies on particular absorption rates (SAR) help to improve the phantom tumor location. This work aims to investigate non-invasive Breast Cancer detection utilizing small-sized UWB antennas via dielectric contrast analysis.

Universally, the most predominant cause of female mortality is mainly due to breast cancer. Owing to numerous constraints in the existing imaging technique, researchers are trying out an alternative tool to detect the tumor before going to the miserable stage. This article presents a novel method to detect the mean value system for detecting the location of the tumor in different depths by shifting the antenna anywhere in the breast tissue. In addition, an algorithm to reconstruct the breast image, namely Delay-Multiply-and-Sum (DMAS) is followed to identify the tumor implanted in the breast tissue. The analysis shows that the maximum mean value occurs while the antenna moves very near to the tumor while the mean value reduces while the antenna shifts apart from the tumor location. The mean value in different locations is converted into a microwave image. The high intensity in the image exhibits the precise position of the tumor. This technique can identify the location of early-stage tumor of size 3mm. Multiple tumors of sizes 6mm and 7mm can identify at a depth of 12mm and 18mm in the homogeneous breast phantom. DMAS can provide better imaging results in the early stage tumor of size 3mm embedded in the breast phantom. Microwave imaging is an efficient technique to differentiate healthy and malignant tissue in the breast. Antenna plays a major role in identifying tumors in the breast in the early stage. Hence a high-performance Ultra Wideband Dielectric Resonator Antenna (DRA-UWB) is used to identify the tumor in the breast. An antenna is sketched in different locations of the breast phantom. On account of the hemispherical structure, the mean value of the reflected signal is high at the center than at the edge. Hence, the difference in mean value is calculated with and without breast phantom for identifying the tumor location. The overall efficiency of this technique can be improved by using a high-performance UWB antenna. The image of the breast is reformed by the DMAS beamforming algorithm.

This letter confer an ameliorated monopole antenna for locating the tumor in breast tissue. The posited UWB antenna with a size of 35 × 30 mm provides good impedance matching, gain and radiation characteristics over the wide range of 3.1 GHz to 12.8 GHz. Homogeneous breast model was enlarged to analyze the area as well as size of the tumor in breast, The absorbed power and the SAR for average mass of 10 g of breast tissue at different frequency, different size of the tumor and different distance among the antenna and the breast model were analyzed. In order to locate the tumor, the coordinates of the maximum SAR value are discerned. The antenna and breast phantom were designed using CST studio simulator.

This paper investigates an efficient UWB biosensor that employs monostatic radar-based microwave imaging (RBMI) to identify cancerous cells in human breast tissue. The proposed FSS-loaded lens applicator biosensor assembly combines three designs, including a UWB radiator, a frequency selective surface (FSS) reflector, and a square-shaped split ring metamaterial cell (SSR-M). In Computer Simulation Technology-Microwave Studio (CST-MWS) simulator, a lens applicator (UWB transceiver with SSR-M at its front side) when loaded with an FSS reflector is simulated with a breast phantom (BP), then the system performance is assessed in the context of backscattered parameters, penetration depth (PD), and specific absorption rate (SAR). Experimental validations of the fabricated prototype are captured using the Vector Network Analyzer (VNA). Signal processing steps are applied over the S 11 signals using MATLAB, to detect the depth/location of the malignant tissue. The proposed system is capable of detecting a minimum tumor size of 4 mm up to a maximum localization depth of 30 mm. The proposed system has an isotropic gain of 3.6 dBi and a SAR of 1.07 W/kg over 1 g of tissue. As a result, the proposed biosensor configuration is suitable option for microwave imaging applications.

Antennas for the microwave imaging system are large which results in higher radiation, manufacturing cost, poor radiation characteristics and it will be difficult to locate on breast tissues. We propose a wearable ultra-wide band antenna for use in the diagnosis of breast cancer bio-medical applications. The antenna has been fabricated on 1.6 mm FR4 substrate with a dimension of 28 × 14.4 mm2 and can operate between 2 GHz-12 GHz with S11<-10 dB with best radiation characteristics. The prototype of the proposed antenna was fabricated and practically tested and the results were found to be consistent with the simulated results. The proposed UWB antenna is intended to radiate and receive information covering the entire spectrum from 3 GHz to 13 GHz. For good impendence matching throughout the larger spectrum, the defected ground structure (diamond shape) was exploited. All the dimensions of the proposed design are confirmed by parametric study and optimization. The maximum simulated efficiency was ranging from 80 to 84% in the desired operating frequency. The maximum Specific Absorption Rate of the proposed antenna was 0.98 W/Kg. Therefore, the proposed UWB antenna could be the right structure for breast cancer diagnosis in terms of SAR. The antenna was found to have a substantial radiation efficiency of around 78%-84% in the desired operating bandwidth. The overall realized gain of the proposed UWB antenna was seen ranging from 1.8-4.2 dB which is sufficient for bio-medical applications. The breast phantom was modeled for the validation of the performance of the antenna and SAR was analyzed. The value of SAR of the designed antenna was observed at about 0.98 W/Kg, which is suitable for medical applications.

In this work, a unique tri-band notch and multiband UWB antenna sensor has been designed for microwave sensing system to find out the cancerous tissues. The crescent shaped slot loaded antenna has been designed to avoid interferences between the antennas in UWB ranges. Using notches, the antenna sensitivity increases for detection. The proposed method has been verified through simulation and validated using measurements. S11 plot of the proposed antenna shows three notches at 3 GHz, 4.75 GHz and 7.25 GHz. It also shows four bands and omnidirectional radiation pattern over the UWB frequency range. Ground plane has been chosen to be hexagonal to achieve fourth band. I-shaped and U-shaped parasitics improve the antenna performance in third band. Crescent shaped and C-shaped slots improve the performance of first and second band of the antenna respectively. Additionally, phantom without tumors and with single and multiple tumors are fabricated. S-parameter analysis is a better approach to detect the cancerous tissues in the breast. Concept of principal component analysis of statistical machine learning has also been used to distinguish S-parameter of normal breast phantom from malignant breast phantom.

Detection of breast cancer in its early stage is critical for reducing the death rate. In this paper, a compact and flexible breast tumor sensing system is designed using dual-polarized UWB antenna arrays. Each UWB unit is composed of two orthogonally placed circular monopoles, which are printed on flexible and low-profile Kapton polyimide. The antennas are fed by single-side coplanar waveguides for size reduction. A wide band from 3.9 GHz to 19 GHz is obtained, with an isolation of above 16 dB over the operating band. High fidelity factors are achieved at different solid angles, indicating little distortion of the signal and stable sensing ability. To obtain the image of the tumor, eight UWB units are employed surrounding the breast phantom. Using the reflected and scattered signals from the antennas, 3D images of the breast are reconstructed using delay-and-sum (DAS) algorithm. Attributed to the dual-polarized UWB antennas, accurate location and size of the tumors are retained with little clutter. Moreover, the proposed system can detect two tumors with an edge to edge distance of 15 mm. Experiments have been carried out on rotating platforms, with the tumor successfully detected in the measurement. The proposed tumor sensing system is suitable for wearable applications due to its compact size and flexibility.

In this paper, four wearable UWB antennas are designed to detect and locate tumor cells placed within a heterogeneous phantom at different positions. The proposed antenna is operated within the 4.90 GHz to 15.97 GHz bandwidth range. It is fabricated, measured, and nearly matched between measured and simulated results. A cavity is formulated to back each antenna within the proposed detection system for increasing penetration and gain of propagated electromagnetic waves of the antenna design. The S-parameter of the proposed system was used to detect and locate a small tumor. The SAR results show that the absorbed power by the breast phantom tissues satisfies the IEEE standards which confirms the appropriateness of the proposed antennas for breast cancer early detection and localization system.