Use of the FDTD method for time reversal: Application to microwave breast cancer detection

The feasibility of microwave breast cancer detection with a time reversal algorithm is examined. This time reversal algorithm, based on the finite difference time domain method (FDTD), time reverses not only the recorded field, but also the medium. It compensates for the wave decay and therefore is suitable for lossy media. We present two-dimensional (2D) breast models and geometries, and assume knowledge of the system's response in the absence of tumor (distorted wave Born approximation). Our results illustrate the system's detection and localization abilities, and its robustness to dispersion and measurement noise. Good performance using a simple time reversal mirror shows that this method is a promising technique for microwave imaging, and encourages us to further examine its applicability to microwave breast cancer detection.