Microwave Tomograph

A team at Chalmers University has developed a new technique for cancer diagnosis and cancer treatment. The microwave tomograph is a cylindrical container that consists of thirty antennas arranged around it. Advanced algorithms take in the data from the antennas to create a near perfect detailed image of the breast tissue in 3-D. This method of diagnosis has several advantages over the typical mammography. The image from the microwave tomograph shows a much better contrast between the healthy and malignant tissue compared to the x-rays. The much higher contrast makes it much easier to identify even the smallest tumors in deep lying tissue.



In the second use of the microwave tomograph, the microwaves are used to destroy the tumors by heating them. Clinical studies have shown that this method, combined with chemotherapy, doubles the long-term ability to cure cancers, especially cervical and sarcoma. Hana Dobsicek Trefina, a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, and the team are now trying to develop a system to reach deep-seated tumors in the head and neck with high accuracy. In the future, Chalmers team will be able to detect the tumor, then without removing the microwave tomograph, immediately begin treatment. It will be able to monitor the tissue, while the cancerous ones are getting destroyed.