Microwave Imaging for Breast Cancer

Microwaves and millimeter waves have been used extensively to image dielectric bodies. The relatively long wavelengths (from a millimeter to a meter) allow for penetration into many optically opaque mediums such as living tissues, wood, ceramics, plastics, clothing, concrete, soil, fog, foliage, etc. While the public usually associates microwave radar with target detection and tracking, it has also been used for decades in remote sensing, i.e., for the imaging of weather patterns or the surface of remote planets, for underground surveillance, etc. More recently, microwave and millimeter-wave systems have been deployed for a variety of short-range applications, most notably in concealed weapon detection, through-the-wall imaging, and nondestructive testing for structural integrity. © 2011 IEEE.