PD

PD

F-

XC

h a n g e Vi e

F-

XC

h a n g e Vi e

er

er

O W

bu

to

lic

lic

to

bu

N
.c

O W
w
.d o
c u -tr a c k

.d o

c u -tr a c k

.c

FYS-3921 Masters Thesis in Electrical Engineering

Improved Hardware Stability and Signal Amplication in a Medical Microwave Radiometer

Alexander Tobiassen
October 27, 2010

Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Physics and Technology, University of Troms N-9037 Norway, Troms

w
w

w
w

PD

PD

F-

XC

h a n g e Vi e

F-

XC

h a n g e Vi e

er

er

O W

bu

to

lic

lic

to

bu

N
.c

O W
w
.d o
c u -tr a c k

.d o

c u -tr a c k

.c

Abstract
Breast cancer is one of the most frequent types of cancer in the female population today. Modern diagnostic modalities, while proven to be helpful within large scale screening programs, are inherently limited with regards to specicity and sensitivity, and use active methods for acquisition of information. A passive and non-invasive method for detection and diagnostic purposes could therefore be a valuable asset to the existing technology. One such method is microwave radiometry. A microwave radiometer is an instrument for non-invasive thermography of subcutaneous temperatures. Recent advances within the eld has demonstrated that this technology could be helpful in conjunction with existing methods. This thesis presents the design, implementation and experimental verication of a miniaturized medical microwave radiometer. The design is based on the Switch-Circulator Dicke-conguration to minimize eects of gain variations and mismatch at the antenna input. The performance of the radiometric system is veried through phantom experiments with a hot object embedded at various depths in a homogeneous, lossy medium. Results display a good coherence with regards to linearity, temperature sensitivity and repeatability. For an integration time constant of 2s, the accuracy T is found to be < 0.07o C, which is comparable with corresponding instruments as reported in literature.

w
w

w
w