Advanced sensor for non-invasive breast cancer and brain cancer diagnosis using antenna array with metamaterial-based AMC

Microwave imaging techniques can identify abnormal cells in early development stages. This study introduces a microstrip patch antenna coupled with artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) to realize improved sensor for non-invasive (early-stage) breast cancer and brain cancer diagnosis. The frequency selectivity of the proposed antenna has been increased by the presence of AMC by creating an additional resonance at 2.276 GHz associated with peak gain of 8.15 dBi and 10.02 dBi, with and without AMC, respectively. High precision and high-quality imaging in the field of medical diagnostics are ensured by the directive radiation pattern of the sensor, emitted from the center of the sensor’s front surface. The antenna has been manufactured and experimentally validated with measurement results being in good agreement with the full-wave simulations. In particular, the measured broadside gain at the operating frequency is 11.7 dBi. The presented structure has been incorporated in the microwave imaging system for breast and brain cancer identification. Extensive simulation studies corroborate its suitability for the task based on the analysis of multiple scenarios of tumor detection. Furthermore, our antenna has been favorably compared to state-of-the-art designs reported in the literature showing its competitive performance, especially in terms of size, impedance matching bandwidth, and gain trade-offs.