Microwave Thermoelastic Tomography and Imaging

Abstract

Microwave thermoelastic imaging uses microwave-pulse-induced thermoelastic pressure waves to form planar or tomographic images. Since the generation and detection of thermoelastic pressure waves depends on dielectric permittivity, specific heat, thermal expansion, and acoustic properties of tissue, microwave thermoelastic imaging possesses the characteristic features of a duel-modality imaging system. The unique attributes of the high contrast offered by microwave absorption and the fine spatial resolution furnished by ultrasound, are being explored to provide an imaging modality for noninvasive imaging characterization of tissues, especially for early detection of breast cancer. This chapter describes the research being conducted in developing microwave thermoelastic tomography (MTT) and imaging for medical diagnosis. It discusses the science of thermoelastic wave generation and propagation in biological tissues; the design of prototype microwave thermoelastic tomographic imaging (MTTI) systems; and the reconstruction of tomographic images using filtered-back projection algorithms; as well as the performance of prototype microwave thermoelastic tomographic systems in phantom models and human subjects.