A Review On Microwave Imaging Systems for Breast Cancer Detection

Abstract

Breast cancer is currently the most often diagnosed tumour for women. Providing a safe and accurate imaging technique for early detection is one of the mains focuses on different research groups. Microwave Imaging has emerged as a complementary modality among mammography and ultrasound. It is capable of identifying a millimetre size tumour inner even in a dense breast. However, it has a limited spatial resolution and is sensitive to artefacts that can degrade the image quality. The challenge of this technique lies in a system design targeting operational frequency range that guarantees repeatability, with specificity and sensitivity values taking to positive impacts on the exam results, for future acceptance and clinical use. This paper aimed to depict the unfolded systems that employ the microwave technique and describe their apparatus solutions and key features. It is a review that focuses on practical results and highlights those that are the most advanced. In addition, a comprehensive review of the literature on Microwave Imaging and systems is presented. Since there is no consensus on the best apparatus configuration, linked to the fact that only some research groups have stated clinical results with patients employing their device, the question of clinical acceptance of Microwave Imaging in breast cancer detection is raised and discussed. Yet, some systems have reported astonishing practical results that were presented and compared with other modalities, and due to this, we recommend continued efforts for the broader application of this technique in breast cancer detection.

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