Time- domain microwave cancer screening: optimized pulse shaping applied to realistically shaped breast phantoms

Abstract — We compare the tumor detection ability of a time-domain microwave radar system for breast cancer screening fed with two different pulses. We conduct measurements on highly realistic breast phantoms using as inputs to our system both a generic pulse and a pulse reshaped with a synthesized broadband reflector (SBR) designed to have a frequency profile advantageous for tumor detection. We perform measurements with various tumor sizes and locations, as well as antenna positions. Our results in both time-domain and frequency-domain demonstrate that this pulse shaping technique is beneficial in both improving the tumor response and increasing the system efficiency. Index Terms — cancer detection, microwave imaging, phantoms, pulse shaping methods, radar imaging. I