title: An effective procedure for MNP-enhanced breast cancer microwave imaging.
abstract: Magnetic nanoparticles-enhanced microwave imaging has been recently proposed to overcome the limitations of conventional microwave imaging methods for breast cancer monitoring. In this paper, we discuss how to tackle the linear inverse scattering problem underlying this novel technique in an effective way. In particular, our aim is to minimize the required a priori patient-specific information, avoid occurrence of false positives, and keep the computational burden low. By relying on an extensive numerical analysis in realistic conditions, we show that the method can provide accurate and reliable images without information on the inner structure of the inspected breast and with an only rough knowledge of its shape. Notably, this allows moving to an offline stage the computationally intensive part of the image formation procedure. In addition, we show how to appraise the total amount of magnetic contrast agent targeted in the tumor.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Scapaticci
authors.forename: Gennaro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bellizzi
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Catapano
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Crocco
authors.forename: Ovidio Mario
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Bucci
mesh_terms: D001940:Breast / Q000473:pathology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000737:chemistry*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles; D008872:Microwaves; D008954:Models, Biological; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles