Microwave breast imaging performance is fundamentally dependent on the quality of information contained within the scattering data. We apply a truncated singular-value decomposition (TSVD) method to evaluate the information contained in a simulated scattering scenario wherein a compact, shielded array of miniaturized patch antennas surrounds an anatomically realistic numerical breast phantom. In particular, we investigate the impact of different antenna orientations (and thus polarizations), namely two array configurations with uniform antenna orientations and one mixed-orientation array configuration. The latter case is of interest because it may offer greater flexibility in antenna and array design. The results of this analysis indicate that mixed-polarization configurations do not degrade information quality compared to uniform-polarization configurations and, in fact, may enhance imaging performance and thus represent viable design options for microwave breast imaging systems.

中文翻译：

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使用封闭式小型贴片天线阵列进行偏振对微波乳腺成像影响的 TSVD 分析


微波乳腺成像性能从根本上取决于散射数据中包含的信息的质量。我们应用截断奇异值分解（TSVD）方法来评估模拟散射场景中包含的信息，其中小型贴片天线的紧凑屏蔽阵列围绕着解剖学上真实的数字乳房模型。特别是，我们研究了不同天线方向（以及极化）的影响，即具有统一天线方向的两种阵列配置和一种混合方向阵列配置。后一种情况令人感兴趣，因为它可以为天线和阵列设计提供更大的灵活性。该分析的结果表明，与均匀偏振配置相比，混合偏振配置不会降低信息质量，事实上，可以增强成像性能，从而代表微波乳腺成像系统的可行设计选择。