A Preclinical System Prototype for Focused Microwave Breast Hyperthermia Guided by Compressive Thermoacoustic Tomography

Objective: As a newly developed technique, focused microwave breast hyperthermia (FMBH) can provide accurate and cost-effective treatment of breast tumors with low side effect. A clinically feasible FMBH system requires a guidance technique to monitor the microwave power distribution in the breast. Compressive thermoacoustic tomography (CTT) is a suitable guidance approach for FMBH, which is more cost-effective than MRI. However, no experimental validation based on a realized FMBH-CTT system has been reported, which greatly hinders the further advancement of this novel approach. Methods: We developed a preclinical system prototype for the FMBH-CTT technique, containing a microwave phased antenna array, a microwave source, an ultrasound transducer array and associated data acquisition module. Results: Experimental results employing homogeneous and inhomogeneous breast-mimicking phantoms demonstrate that the CTT technique can offer reliable guidance for the entire process of the FMBH. In addition, small phase noises do not deteriorate the overall performance of the system prototype. Conclusion: The realized preclinical FMBH-CTT system prototype is capable for noninvasive, accurate and low-side-effect breast tumor treatment with effective guidance. Significance: The experimentally validated FMBH-CTT system prototype provides a feasible paradigm for CTT guided FMBH, establishes a practical platform for future improvement of this technique, and paves the way for potential clinical translation.