Abstract
This paper presents the Wavelia microwave breast imaging system that has been recently installed at the Galway University Hospital, Ireland, for a first-in-human pilot clinical test. Microwave breast imaging has been extensively investigated over the last two decades as an alternative imaging modality that could potentially bring complementary information to state-of-the-art modalities such as X-ray mammography. Following an overview of the main working principles of this technology, the Wavelia imaging system architecture is presented, as are the radar signal processing algorithms that are used in forming the microwave images in which small tumors could be detectable for disease diagnosis. The methodology and specific quality metrics that have been developed to properly evaluate and validate the performance of the imaging system using complex breast phantoms that are scanned at controlled measurement conditions are also presented in the paper. Indicative results from the application of this methodology to the on-site validation of the imaging system after its installation at the hospital for pilot clinical testing are thoroughly presented and discussed. Given that the imaging system is still at the prototype level of development, a rigorous quality assessment and system validation at nominal operating conditions is very important in order to ensure high-quality clinical data collection.
Highlights
Microwave imaging for medical applications has been of interest for many years
The electrical properties of various tissues may be related to their physiological state; notably, there has been some evidence of changes in the properties of cancerous tissues when compared to normal tissues
For the presented in this paper and used the on-site validation the Wavelia imaging vertical scan, theanalysis focusing operation is performed perfor vertical position of theofsensor network, on system before its pilot clinical test, the image curvature, as defined in [60] by S
Summary
Microwave imaging for medical applications has been of interest for many years. The microwave images are maps of the electrical property distributions in the body. At least four research teams have performed clinical testing of their experimental prototypes [6,7,8,9,10,11], demonstrating numerous positive results and a potential added value of the microwave technology toward a better specificity and/or sensitivity in breast cancer diagnosis when combined with the state-of-the-art modalities. The methodology and indicative results from the on-site validation of the device, using anthropomorphic breast phantoms, are presented.
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