title: Effect of lesion morphology on microwave signature in 2-D ultra-wideband breast imaging.
abstract: This paper studies the possibility of distinguishing between benign and malignant masses by exploiting the morphology-dependent temporal and spectral characteristics of their microwave backscatter response in ultra-wideband breast cancer detection. The spiculated border profiles of 2-D breast masses are generated by modifying the baseline elliptical rings based upon the irregularity of their peripheries. Furthermore, the single- and multilayer lesion models are used to characterize a distinct mass region followed by a sharp transition to background, and a blurred mass border exhibiting a gradual transition to background, respectively. Subsequently, the complex natural resonances (CNRs) of the backscatter microwave signature can be derived from the late-time target response and reveal diagnostically useful information. The fractional sequence CLEAN algorithm is proposed to estimate the lesions' delay intervals and identify the late-time responses. Finally, it is shown through numerical examples that the locations of dominant CNRs are dependent on the lesion morphologies, where 2-D computational breast phantoms with single and multiple lesions are investigated. The analysis is of potential use for discrimination between benign and malignant lesions, where the former usually possesses a better-defined, more compact shape as opposed to the latter.
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering, University of Greenwich, Kent ME44TB, UK. y.chen@gre.ac.uk
authors.forename: Yifan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Erry
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gunawan
authors.forename: Kay Soon
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Low
authors.forename: Shih-Chang
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Cheong Boon
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Soh
authors.forename: Thomas Choudary
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Putti
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008872:Microwaves; D008954:Models, Biological; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity