Development of a new technique for breast tumor detection based on thermal impedance and a damage metric

Abstract Tumors can be detected from a temperature gradient owing to the high vascularization and increased activity of cancer cells. The identification of affected areas through thermal infrared images represents a method of identifying these tumors. However, various disease processes can produce significant and unpredictable changes in body temperatures. These limitations suggest that thermal image should be used as an adjuvant examination, not a diagnostic test. The objective of this study was to develop a method that could qualify thermographic techniques for the detection of inclusions and could be used as an alternative. The proposed method used a thermal analogy with dynamic systems for inclusion detection by changing the impedance of these systems. The impedance was the ratio between the variations of the surface temperature response of the structure to the application of a modulated external heat flux. The damage metrics quantitatively represented the difference between two measurements before and after damage. The proposed procedure was validated experimentally through an application in hyperplastic materials with simple geometry. Silicone phantom samples were analyzed. The impedance method showed sensitivity to small inclusion sizes, representing an early detection capability.