The use of medical imaging technology to efficiently diagnose and manage disease has never been more important. One of the most promising emerging medical imaging modalities is microwave imaging (MWI), which is a low-power, low-cost and non-ionising imaging modality. While X-rays (mammography) can be used for imaging breast tissue, they are ionising and considered to be harmful. However, the use of MWI is not. Microwaves can also be used to diagnose and treat breast cancer tissue, which is why they are being investigated for a number of medical applications. These efforts have led to the design of several microwave-based imaging devices, most of which are currently undergoing or poised for clinical trials.
Significant effort is currently being made in developing imaging devices for breast cancer detection using microwaves. Microwave images for medical applications are maps of electrical energy absorption and dissipation in the body which have been studied for several years. The technology involves observing the internal structure of an object by means of electromagnetic fields at microwave frequencies (300 MHz–30 GHz). Breast cancer detection with microwave imaging is based on the contrast in electrical properties of cancerous tissues compared to normal tissues.
The microwave energy travels through the breast from a transmitter and is detected at receivers located on the other side of the breast. Simultaneously, reflections may be recorded at the transmitter.
Microwaves travelling through the tumour experience a change in the electrical properties, which leads to scattering of the incident wave. This scattering alters the energy detected at the receivers and the transmitter. Finally, images are formed from the information of detected energies.
Most of this MWI research to date has been accomplished in simulation and laboratory studies, with only limited research from the laboratory to the patient’s bedside. European researchers have been at the forefront of the development of MWI.
Earlier in June, the Department of Physics at the University of Malta hosted an international meeting (as part of COST TD1301) for European researchers to leverage existing experience and expertise to streamline the transition from simulation testing to full clinical trials and clinical adoption of MWI devices.
More than 80 researchers from 23 countries attended, together with seven local participants, to discuss new techniques and emerging applications for microwave imaging, the challenges associated with clinical trials and also microwave imaging devices and the framework for their commercialisation.
Together with other local participants, Gordon Caruana Dingli and Kevin Cassar presented their research during this meeting.
Mr Caruana Dingli, a breast surgeon at Mater Dei Hospital, outlined challenges in breast surgery which could be addressed using microwave medical imaging, while Mr Cassar, a vascular consultant and surgeon at Mater Dei, shared his successful experience in clinical trials.
My review at this international meeting gave an overview of the current state of knowledge of electrical contrast in breast tissues, with the aim to assess the possibility of microwave breast imaging into making this technology more accessible to patients.
Did you know?
• The first microwave oven weighed over 300 kilos and was nearly six feet tall.
• One of the loudest ocean sounds ever recorded in 1997 is ‘The Bloop’, which sounds like an iceberg fracturing. However, the origins of the sound are unknown.
• Butterflies’ taste sensation works on touch, which is why they taste with their hind feet, allowing them to see whether a leaf is edible.
• Sandstorms are created when great gusts of wind pick up sand and carry it for long distances. When a sandstorm hits, one cannot see anything and one’s eyes, nose and mouth are covered with sand.
• Our salivary glands can produce up to two litres of saliva per day. The enzymes found in saliva help to fight off infections in our mouths.
For more trivia see: www.um.edu.mt/think
Sound bites
• Researchers at King’s College in London, together with researchers from CRUK/MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation and Technology, have been working on an imaging technique that aids in identifying who might benefit from certain breast cancer treatments. This imaging technique will give a better insight and help and avoid prescribing unnecessary treatments. This technique still needs to undergo clinical trials to test whether it could potentially aid patients. The technique being used is fluorescent lifetime imaging which measures the distance between two protein molecules. The researchers hope that this treatment will not only prove that of breast cancer but for other cancers such as bowel and lung cancers.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160707172030.htm
• Microwave measurements can be used to rapidly detect intracranial bleeding in traumatic brain injuries. When healthcare professionals get vital information, they can take immediate action on appropriate treatment. This is possible when they are examined with a microwave helmet. This is placed on a patient’s head and the brain tissue is examined using microwave radiation. The system is made up of three parts, consisting of a helmet-like antenna system placed on the patient’s head. The second part is the microwave unit together with a computer that controls the equipment and the final part is the data gathering and signal processing. A weak microwave signal is transmitted through the brain and the reflected signal is picked up by another receiving antenna. The received signals provide a complex pattern which is then interpreted using advanced algorithms.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170308083719.htm
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