Dielectric Characterization of Breast Biopsied Tissues as Pre-Pathological Aid in Early Cancer Detection: A Blinded Feasibility Study

Abstract

Dielectric characterization has significant potential in several medical applications, providing valuable insights into the electromagnetic properties of biological tissues for disease diagnosis, treatment planning, and monitoring of therapeutic interventions. This work presents the use of a custom-designed electromagnetic characterization system, based on an open-ended coaxial probe, for discriminating between benign and malignant breast tissues in a clinical setting. The probe’s development involved a well-balanced compromise between physical feasibility and its combined use with a reconstruction algorithm known as the virtual transmission line model (VTLM). Immediately following the biopsy procedure, the dielectric properties of the breast tissues were reconstructed, enabling tissue discrimination based on a rule-of-thumb using the obtained dielectric parameters. A comparative analysis was then performed by analyzing the outcomes of the dielectric investigation with respect to conventional histological results. The experimental procedure took place at Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Toledo—Hospital Virgen de la Salud, Spain, where excised breast tissues were collected and subsequently analyzed using the dielectric characterization system. A comprehensive statistical evaluation of the probe’s performance was carried out, obtaining a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 81.6%, 61.5%, and 73.4%, respectively, compared to conventional histological assessment, considered as the gold standard in this investigation.

Dielectric Characterization of Ex-Vivo Breast Tissues: Differentiation of Tumor Types through Permittivity Measurements

“…So far, the results obtained provide a clear reference to the heterogeneous behavior of biological tissues, offering valuable reference data [17][18][19][20][21][22]. However, it is essential to conduct more detailed analyses for each type of tumor, as has been initiated in this study.…”

“…Conversely, nonpolar compounds, like adipose tissues, exhibit low permittivity [8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. These characteristics provide valuable information for identifying unwanted pathologies such as breast cancer, among other applications [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Various research groups have focused on leveraging tissue contrast between benign and malignant breast cancer for many years, and recently several systems have been implemented in clinical practice.…”

Open-Ended Coaxial Probe for Effective Reconstruction of Biopsy-Excised Tissues’ Dielectric Properties

“…In this regard, technologies that adopt the dielectric characterization of tissues in the microwave range are widely investigated for innovative applications in cancer fighting. To this end, the adoption of devices with open-ended coaxial probes (OECPs) may be useful for tissue characterization, as they provide a valid support to conventional biopsies with the added advantage of real-time results [5][6][7]. These tools may have several clinical applications; they are characterized by simple usage, do not require sample manipulation, and are quick and inexpensive for tissue pre-classification.…”

Forensic discrimination of blue fountain pen inks based on dielectric constant property

“…When literature has been examined dielectric constant namely the relative permittivity (εr) and conductivity (σ), usually has been used for determining how electromagnetic (EM) radiation is transmitted, absorbed, and reflected in the present biological tissues [7] in other words, it measures the way electromagnetic fields interact with the human body [8], detection of cancer tissue, blood cell in urine [9], [10], [11], [12]food industry [13], [14], [15], [16], [17], seawater problems [18].…”