ABSTRACT
Magnetic nanoparticles-enhanced microwave imaging has been recently proposed as an effective and reliable means to detect breast cancer. Thanks to the nonmagnetic nature of human tissues, the imaging problem corresponds to the retrieval of a weak magnetic anomaly hosted into an unknown nonmagnetic scenario. Hence, properly targeted magnetic nanoparticles in principle allow to avoid false positives and reduce occurrence of false negatives. In this paper, we outline some guidelines for the design of the imaging device based on an optimized measurement configuration. In particular, we determine the nonredundant number of probes and their collocation needed to ensure a reliable solution of the underlying inverse scattering problem. The analysis exploits the spectral properties of the relevant mathematical operators and it is corroborated by reporting numerical results exploiting the phantoms' repository from the University of Wisconsin. It is shown that magnetic nanoparticles-enhanced microwave imaging can reliably detect cancer lesions even using low-complexity arrangements, designed according to the devised guidelines.
Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms/diagnosis , Image Enhancement/methods , Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted/methods , Magnetite Nanoparticles , Microwaves , Models, Biological , Breast Neoplasms/chemistry , Computer Simulation , Female , Humans , Magnetite Nanoparticles/chemistry , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
Magnetic nanoparticles-enhanced microwave imaging has been recently proposed to overcome the limitations of conventional microwave imaging methods for breast cancer monitoring. In this paper, we discuss how to tackle the linear inverse scattering problem underlying this novel technique in an effective way. In particular, our aim is to minimize the required a priori patient-specific information, avoid occurrence of false positives, and keep the computational burden low. By relying on an extensive numerical analysis in realistic conditions, we show that the method can provide accurate and reliable images without information on the inner structure of the inspected breast and with an only rough knowledge of its shape. Notably, this allows moving to an offline stage the computationally intensive part of the image formation procedure. In addition, we show how to appraise the total amount of magnetic contrast agent targeted in the tumor.
Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Contrast Media/chemistry , Diagnostic Imaging/methods , Magnetite Nanoparticles , Microwaves , Breast/pathology , Female , Humans , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted , Models, Biological , Phantoms, ImagingABSTRACT
A new solution approach to inverse scattering from aspect-limited phaseless measurements of the total field is introduced and discussed. In analogy with the case of measurements on closed curves [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A21, 622 (2004)], the procedure splits the problem into two different steps. In the first step, amplitude and phase of the scattered field are estimated from only amplitude information of the total field. By properly extending the concept of reduced radiated field to the case of scattered fields (as a function of both illumination and measurement variables) and taking advantage of the properties of the square amplitude distribution of the total field, criteria are given for an optimal choice of the measurement setup and a successful retrieval. Then the complex permittivity profile is reconstructed in the second step, starting from the scattered fields estimated in the previous step. Numerical examples are provided to assess the effectiveness of the whole chain in the presence of noise-corrupted data and the relevance of the representation introduced for the scattered fields.
