Holographic Microwave Imaging: Experimental study on spatial distribution of antennas for accurate results

The Holographic Microwave Imaging system is an active microwave imaging based on radar technique. Previous works have investigated its capability to detect tumors from early breast cancer. The results demonstrate a proper image reconstruction with different algorithms focused on near-field and far-field conditions. The system used for far-field scenery uses a random spatial distribution for antennas array. In this paper, experimental studies are done to validate the benefits of the random positions array and the non-viability of the uniform ones. Results show the accuracy for detection of multiple tumors in a breast phantom with a random spatial distribution. The sphere tumor samples of 0.7 cm and 1 cm diameter are successfully located and coins as conductor references validate the distance and area of the targets imaged. On the other hand, the experiments with a uniform distributed antennas array exhibit the presence of replicas in the image, showing the inefficiency of this set-up.