Breast cancer detection, imaging and screening by electromagnetic millimeter waves
US5807257A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 17, 1997 |
| Grant date | Sep 15, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 17, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B6/502
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method for detecting an incipient tumor in living tissue such as that of a human breast in accordance with differences in relative dielectric characteristics. A generator produces a non-ionizing electromagnetic input wave of preselected frequency, usually exceeding three gigahertz, and that input wave is used to illuminate the living tissue, being effectively focused into a small, discrete volume within the tissue to develop a non-ionizing electromagnetic wave at that position. The illumination location is moved over a portion of the living tissue in a predetermined scanning pattern. Scattered signal returns collected from the living tissue are collected to develop a scatter return signal. The scatter return signal is employed to detect any anomaly, caused by differences in relative dielectric characteristics, that maybe indicative of the presence of a tumor in the scanned living tissue.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.