Development of Mechanically and Dielectrically Realistic Breast Models for Microwave Therapy and Healing Simulations

Abstract

Simulations performed with computational breast models with realistic tissue properties, such as dielectric and mechanical properties, can provide relevant information regarding the cosmetic outcome of microwave therapy, and surgery on a personalized basis. Although the dielectric properties of breast tissues are well characterized, the mechanical properties reported in the literature, namely the Young’s moduli, encompass a wide range of values. In this work, we propose the extraction of the Young’s modulus from breast ultrasound elastography exams, which enables the integration of mechanical with dielectric properties in breast models. We present the framework developed to this end and an application example. Our framework allowed us to obtain an indication of the Young’s modulus of the tissue present in the ultrasound elastography exam. Although preliminary, these results indicate that it is possible to acquire quantitative and personalized information from conventional ultrasound devices without burdening physicians with extra examination. This framework is flexible and allows to realistically model several breast tissues with different Young’s moduli.