| This dissertation presents the research and development work on a new electrical impedance imaging technique for breast cancer detection.; Electrical impedance of tissue may be used as an indicator for breast cancer detection. Based on a systematic review, a new electrical impedance imaging technique called "dual-face electrical impedance mapping" was proposed for better breast cancer detection. The technique, in which the breast will be compressed between a pair of dielectric plates embedded with high-density electrode arrays, is expected to overcome the limitations of existing techniques and further improve in many aspects.; A series of 3-D finite element simulations have been performed on two simplified breast models to investigate the basic features of the proposed technique and to justify its clinical feasibility. The simulation results justify theoretically the feasibility of the proposed technique and also provide useful information for system design and implementation. A prototype imaging system that embodies the dual-face electrical impedance mapping technique has been successfully developed, including its sophisticated electronics. Algorithms for data acquisition, amplitude and phase estimation, and image processing were also developed. An electronic phantom was invented for the calibration of the instrumentation system. Imaging studies have been performed on agar based tissue-mimic phantoms and satisfactory results have been obtained. The results demonstrate the success of the prototype imaging system. The developed dual-face electrical impedance imaging technique could be a promising technique for breast cancer detection in routine clinical practice. |
