Metamaterial-Inspired Antenna Array for Application in Microwave Breast Imaging Systems for Tumor Detection

IEEE Access

Tayeb A. Denidni¹  Panchamkumar Shukla²  Bal S. Virdee²  Francisco Falcone³  Mohammad Alibakhshikenari⁴  Naser Ojaroudi Parchin⁵  Raed A. Abd-Alhameed⁵  Ernesto Limiti⁶  Isabelle Huynen⁷  Chan Hwang See⁸  Leyre Azpilicueta⁹ 

[1] Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium;Center for Communications Technology, London Metropolitan University, London, U.K.;Department of Electric, Electronic and Communication Engineering, Public University of Navarre, Pamplona, Spain;Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy;Faculty of Engineering & Informatics, University of Bradford, Bradford, U.K.;Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Universit&x00E9;Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics, Universit&x00E9;School of Engineering & the Built Environment, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, U.K.;School of Engineering and Sciences, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico;

关键词: Array antenna;    microstrip technology;    metamaterial;    microwave breast imaging systems;    biosensor;    tumor detection;   

DOI  :  10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3025672

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

This paper presents a study of a planar antenna-array inspired by the metamaterial concept where the resonant elements have sub-wavelength dimensions for application in microwave medical imaging systems for detecting tumors in biological tissues. The proposed antenna consists of square-shaped concentric-rings which are connected to a central patch through a common feedline. The array structure comprises several antennas that are arranged to surround the sample breast model. One antenna at a time in the array is used in transmission-mode while others are in receive-mode. The antenna array operates over 2-12 GHz amply covering the frequency range of existing microwave imaging systems. Measured results show that compared to a standard patch antenna array the proposed array with identical dimensions exhibits an average radiation gain and efficiency improvement of 4.8 dBi and 18%, respectively. The average reflection-coefficient of the array over its operating range is better than S₁₁ ≤ -20 dB making it highly receptive to weak signals and minimizing the distortion encountered with the transmission of short duration pulse-trains. Moreover, the proposed antenna-array exhibits high-isolation on average of 30 dB between radiators. This means that antennas in the array (i) can be closely spaced to accommodate more radiators to achieve higher-resolution imaging scans, and (ii) the imagining scans can be done over a wider frequency range to ascertain better contrast in electrical parameters between malignant tumor-tissue and the surrounding normal breast-tissue to facilitate the detection of breast-tumor. It is found that short wavelength gives better resolution. In this experimental study a standard biomedical breast model that mimics a real-human breast in terms of dielectric and optical properties was used to demonstrate the viability of the proposed antenna over a standard patch antenna in the detection and the localization of tumor. These results are encouraging for clinical trials and further refinement of the antenna-array.

【 授权许可】

Unknown