Non-invasive system for breast cancer detection
First Claim
1. A non-invasive system utilizing non-ionizing electromagnetic millimeter waves of minimal thermal heating capacity for detection of a tumor in a breast, comprising:
- a generator for generating a non-ionizing high-frequency electromagnetic input wave;
illumination means for creating an effectively focussed non-ionizing electromagnetic beam from the input wave and directing said beam to impinge upon an effective focal point at a predetermined position within a breast;
wave impedance matching means, in the illumination means, matching the impedance of the illumination means to the wave impedance of normal breast tissue;
a wave guide for applying the input wave from the generator to the breast through the illumination means;
focal point shifting means, connected to the illumination means, for shifting the effective focal point across the breast in a predetermined pattern to scan selected incremental volumes within the breast;
at least one scattered wave collector positioned to intercept scattered waves from the incremental volumes within the breast and develop a return signal representative of the scattered waves from within the breast;
and a receiver, including a detector, connected to the scattered wave collector, for detecting anomalies in the return signal to identify a tumor and its location in the breast.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for detecting an incipient tumor in living tissue such as that of a human breast in accordance with differences in relative dielectric characteristics. A generator produces a non-ionizing electromagnetic input wave of preselected frequency, usually exceeding three gigahertz, and that input wave is used to illuminate the living tissue, being effectively focused into a small, discrete volume within the tissue to develop a non-ionizing electromagnetic wave at that position. The illumination location is moved over a portion of the living tissue in a predetermined scanning pattern. Scattered signal returns collected from the living tissue are collected to develop a scattered return signal. The scattered return signal is employed to detect any anomaly, caused by differences in relative dielectric characteristics, that is indicative of the presence of a tumor in the scanned living tissue.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A non-invasive system utilizing non-ionizing electromagnetic millimeter waves of minimal thermal heating capacity for detection of a tumor in a breast, comprising:
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a generator for generating a non-ionizing high-frequency electromagnetic input wave; illumination means for creating an effectively focussed non-ionizing electromagnetic beam from the input wave and directing said beam to impinge upon an effective focal point at a predetermined position within a breast; wave impedance matching means, in the illumination means, matching the impedance of the illumination means to the wave impedance of normal breast tissue; a wave guide for applying the input wave from the generator to the breast through the illumination means; focal point shifting means, connected to the illumination means, for shifting the effective focal point across the breast in a predetermined pattern to scan selected incremental volumes within the breast; at least one scattered wave collector positioned to intercept scattered waves from the incremental volumes within the breast and develop a return signal representative of the scattered waves from within the breast; and a receiver, including a detector, connected to the scattered wave collector, for detecting anomalies in the return signal to identify a tumor and its location in the breast. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification