Rotational Artefact Removal for Radar-based Breast Imaging: Effects on Image Quality

Abstract

Radar-based breast imaging has shown promise as an imaging modality for early-stage cancer detection, and clinical investigations of two commercial imaging systems are on-going. Many imaging algorithms have been proposed, which seek to improve the quality of the reconstructed microwave image to enhance the potential clinical decision. However, a large artefact caused by the interface between the skin and breast interior can obscure reflections from the breast interior and, hence, tumour detection. Rotational subtraction is commonly employed to remove this artefact, however, limited work has examined the optimal parameters for rotational subtraction. In this work, the theoretical basis for rotational subtraction is examined, and the potential negative effects on image quality identified. Overall, this work suggests that it is important that the parameters of rotational artefact removal be optimised to improve radar-based breast image quality.