Breast cancer detection with microwave imaging system using wearable conformal antenna arrays

In this paper, an ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna array configuration is used for wearable microwave breast imaging. Compared with our previous work, each flexible UWB antenna within the array is optimized for size and cost through the use of a thin-film laminate. A mounted dielectric spacer is proposed by using a non-stretchable material targeting the antenna array for wearable applications. Besides, a 3-D cylindrical antenna array with 24 antennas is assembled by using 4 of the 2-D circular antenna arrays with six antennas in each array. The proposed compact antenna elements have omnidirectional radiation pattern operating at frequencies from 4.97 to 11.73 GHz. A fully realistic breast model is utilised to validate the performance of the proposed antenna array and the microwave imaging results are reconstructed by using Delay-and-Sum (DAS) algorithm. Simulated results show that a 5-mm diameter tumour inside the glandular region could be precisely detected and located by using the finite difference time (FDTD) solver in CST.