An Antenna Array Based on Radar Operation With High Detection Capability and Implementability for Three-Dimensional Head Imaging

This article proposes a novel antenna array based on radar operation with high detection capability and implementability for 3-D head microwave imaging (MI). The utilized antenna elements are compact with unidirectional radiation patterns over the utilized low-frequency range of 0.5–1.5 GHz, ensuring the portability and high-energy penetration of the antenna array. An effective array layout is designed according to the investigation results of the impact of array layouts on the detection capability of the antenna array. This enables accurate localization of stroke-affected areas along three dimensions, overcoming the limitations of poor performance along some dimensions in the existing radar-based 3-D head MI. A 3-D imaging system based on the proposed array is constructed and validated in stroke monitoring scenarios. The reconstructed 3-D head images demonstrate the accurate localization from three dimensions for variation of the stroke-affected areas as small as 2 cm3 in a numerical real head model and 5 cm3 in experimental head phantoms, confirming the high detection capability of the antenna array. Moreover, the proposed array has implementability in further clinical trials in terms of portability, 3-D positioning, and no need for numerical model aid in experiments.