Microwave method and system to detect and locate cancers in heterogenous tissues
US5829437A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 2, 1996 |
| Grant date | Nov 3, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 2, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B6/508
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method and system 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 irradiate the living tissue, being effectively focused into a minute, discrete volume within the tissue to develop a non-ionizing electromagnetic wave at that position. The illumination location is shifted over a portion of the living tissue in a predetermined scanning pattern. Backscatter signal returns from the living tissue are collected to develop a backscatter return signal wave. The backscatter wave is processed to segregate skin tissue backscatter to develop a segregated backscatter wave signal; that segregated signal, in turn, is employed to detect any anomaly, caused by differences in relative dielectric characteristics, that is indicative of the presence of a tumor or other abnormality in the scanned living tissue.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.