Towards the assessment of detection limits in magnetic nanoparticle enhanced microwave imaging of breast cancer

Magnetic nanoparticles have been recently proposed as a contrast agent for breast cancer microwave imaging. In this communication, we report on the ongoing activities aiming at the feasibility validation of magnetic nanoparticles enhanced microwave imaging. In particular, we discuss the results of some experiments, carried out to deal with the factors that influence the detection limits of the technique. Previous experiments have shown that a major limitation to the minimum amount of contrast agent that can be appreciated is due to the instrumental drift, which cannot be overcome by simply averaging the measurements. In addition, owing to the low level of the useful signal, possible magnetic effects arising from the system and the involved media can become relevant and impair the measurements. In the following, we deal with these aspects and present the results of a first set of experiments aimed at assessing the detection capabilities of the technique.