Microwave dielectric tissue property imaging

Microwave dielectric tissue property imaging is a biomedical imaging modality that reconstructs images based on tissue-dependent dielectric contrasts—differences in electrical properties such as relative permittivity and conductivity—which vary among different tissue types and states of disease (e.g., malignant versus healthy tissue)[1][2][3]. These differences enable the detection and characterization of pathological structures using radar-based or tomographic algorithms, with particular application in breast cancer detection, cardiac imaging, brain imaging, and lung imaging[2][3]. The dielectric properties are chiefly determined by tissue water content, metabolic activity, necrosis, and inflammation, which alter the electrical characteristics and thus the interaction with microwave signals[1][3]. The technique is non-ionizing and may be cost-effective and safe compared to conventional imaging modalities such as CT, PET, or MRI, but is not itself a molecular or pharmacological target[2][3].

Other names

Microwave tissue imagingMicrowave tomographyMicrowave dielectric imagingMicrowave breast imaging