Ultra-Wideband Microwave

Imaging via Space-Time

Beamforming for Early-Staged
Breast-Cancer Detection
 Abstract

 Ultra-wideband(UWB) microwave imaging has recently been

proposed for detecting small breast tumors.
 This method can also be used for Ground Penetrating Radar to
detect buried objects
 In this article, we review the current research status of this approach.
 Introduction

 Ultra-wideband (UWB) radar techniques are used in many

subsurface scaning applications, such as detecting unexploded land
mines, locating utility lines, examining archaeology sites, and
studying groundwater.

 UWB radar systems usually do not attempt to reconstruct the

complete profile of the dielectric properties of the region of interest,
but instead seek to identify the presence and location of “targets” by
their scattering signatures.
 The transmitted electromagnetic (EM) waves are
scattered by any targets that exhibit a mismatch in
dielectric properties. These scattered signals are
recorded by one or more receiving antennas, and
then used to infer the existence, location, and
characteristics of the subsurface targets.
 Objective

 In this article, we review the status of microwave imaging

via space-time beamforming, for early-stage breast-tumar
detection.

 The main objective of this article is to provide an overview

of the principles, development, and current research status
of this UWB imaging approach.
 Background and Motivation

 Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death among

women in the United States. More than 180,000 new cases
of invasive breast cancer are diagnosed and more than
40,000 deaths result from the disease each year.

 Early detection and timely medical intervention are key

factors affecting long-time survival and quality og life of
breast-cancer patients.
 Dielectric Properties of tissue

 The contrast in dielectric properties between malignant and normal

breast tissue is greater than 2:1 in the RF and microwave frequency
range.

 The difference in the dielectric constant, є, and conductivity,  ,

appears to arise in part from the increased water content in
neoplastic tissue, due to increased protein hydration and
vascularization of the cancerous tissue
 Frequency range

 Microwave frequency range between 1 to 10 GHz regime

balances between the conflicting demands of spatial
resolution (better at higher frequencies) and penetration
depth (better at lower frequencies).
 UWB radar techniques do not generally attempt to
reconstruct the complete profile of dielectric properties of
the breast.

 Itinstead seek only to identify the presence and location of

significant backscattered energy arising from the dielectric
contrast between normal and malignant breast tissue.
Figure 1. A summary of measured dielectric constant data for normal and
malignant breast tissue at radio and microwave frequencies, Four-term Cole-
Cole parametric dispersion models for infiltrated fat and muscle were used to
illustrate the extrapolation of measured data to higher frequencies (above 3
GHz)
Figure 2. As in Figure 1, for the conductivity
Delay-and-Sum Beamforming
 A beamformer is a signal processor used in conjunction with an array of antennas. The beamfprmer
output forms a weighted combination of the signals received at each antenna. Total 17 antenna array
elements are used. For the nth time sample at location r0 as.

 Here,
 N = Total number of antenna array(17)
 n = Samples
 r0= Pixel position
 xi is the backscattered signal received at the ith antenna
 Detection of a Tumor

o If a scattering object, such as a tumor, exists at the focal

point

o Then the signals add coherently and a large power results

o If no tumor present, the waveform add incoherently, and a

small power results
 Confocal Microwave-imaging

o The confocal microwave-imaging method is based on the

delay-and-sum beamforming

o In three dimensions, this method accounts for the radial

spreading produced by the propagating signal(1/r factor)
along with the time of flight.
The Antenna is excited with an Ultra-
Wideband Gaussian pulse

 /

 Here

 V0 = Amplitude Volts
 τ = 62.5 ps

 t0 = 4 τ
MATLAB generated sine Modulated
Differenciated Gaussian
Frequency Magnitude Spectrum of Sine
Modulated Differentiated Gaussian
FDTD
Time-Domain Method: FDTD in 1D

 Introduction
 The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is arguably the simplest, both
conceptually and
 in terms of implementation, of the full-wave techniques used to solve problems in
electromagnetics.
 It can accurately tackle a wide range of problems. However, as with all numerical methods
 It does have its share of artifacts and the accuracy is contingent upon the implementation.
The FDTD
 method can solve complicated problems, but it is generally computationally expensive.
• Introduction
• The Yee Algorithm
• Update Equations in 1D
• Computer Implementation of a One-Dimensional FDTD
Simulation
• Bare-Bones Simulation
• PMC Boundary in One Dimension
• Snapshots of the Field
• Additive Source
• Terminating the Grid
• Total-Field/Scattered-Field Boundary
• Inhomogeneities
• Lossy Material
Taylor Series

 The FDTD method employs finite differences as approximations to both the spatial and
temporal
 derivatives that appear in Maxwell’s equations (specifically Ampere’s and Faraday’s laws).
 Consider the Taylor series expansions of the function f(x) expanded about the point x0 with
an
 The Yee Algorithm
 The FDTD algorithm as first proposed by Kane Yee in 1966 employs second-order central differences.
 The algorithm can be summarized as follows:
 Replace all the derivatives in Ampere’s and Faraday’s laws with finite differences. Discretize
 space and time so that the electric and magnetic fields are staggered in both space and time.
 Solve the resulting difference equations to obtain “update equations” that express the (unknown)
 future fields in terms of (known) past fields.
 UPDATE EQUATIONS IN 1D
 Evaluate the magnetic fields one time-step into the future so they are now known (effectively
 they become past fields).
 Evaluate the electric fields one time-step into the future so they are now known (effectively
 they become past fields).
 Repeat the previous two steps until the fields have been obtained over the desired duration.
Update Equations in 1D
 Consider a one-dimensional space where there are only variations in
the x direction. Assume that
 the electric field only has a z component. In this case Faraday’s law
and Amperes law can be written
The arrangement of electric- and magnetic-field nodes in space and time.
The electricfield nodes are shown as circles and the magnetic-field nodes
as triangles.
Space-time after updating the magnetic field.
Computer Implementation of a One-Dimensional
FDTD Simulation. maxTime = 250
maxTime = 1000