Diagnosis of healthy and tumoral breast tissue using surface temperature characteristic analysis of tumoral breast tissue during treatment with microwave tomography

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Radiation Application Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, Atomic Energy Organization, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Cancer is a significant public health problem worldwide and one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Breast cancer and fibroids are common among women, and if they are diagnosed on time, recovery and treatment will increase significantly.
In this article, breast cysts are diagnosed based on the surface temperature characteristic of breast tissue. For this purpose, the temperature characteristics of a breast with a cyst have been evaluated. Heat transfer inside the breast is modeled by Penne’s bio-heat equation and solved by the finite element method. In this study, due to the difference in the dielectric properties of healthy and tumor breast tissue, the temperature distribution on the surface of the breast with a cyst of different sizes was determined. For this purpose, parameters such as temperature and SAR levels were examined and evaluated. The results show that with a similar amount of total energy for electromagnetic waves, the temperature level of the tissue exposed to the waves remains constant regardless of the input power combination. Also, results show that as the size of the tumor increases, the effect of radiation on breast tissue increases, and therefore the malignant area can be distinguished from the healthy area of breast tissue. The results show the difference in the surface temperature characteristics of the normal breast and breast with a cyst of various sizes, which can be a criterion in diagnosing the complication of breast cysts compared to normal breasts.

Keywords


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