Bioimpedance spectroscopy of breast phantoms

Abstract This article is devoted to the study of the possibility of detecting breast tumors, which can be used for early diagnostics of breast cancer, by the dielectric impedance spectroscopy method. Dielectric impedance spectroscopy is a version of the bioimpedance spectroscopy method, based on the concept of breast tissue as a heterogeneous dielectric, the electrical and mathematical models of which are based on the Havriliak-Negami model. This opens the possibility of getting rid of direct mechanical and electrical contacts between the electrical impedance sensors of the mammograph and the skin. To determine the sensitivity of the dielectric impedance spectroscopy (DIS) method, a series of experiments was performed with phantoms with and without inclusion based on physiological solution (isotonic saline solution) and agar-agar. Using a special capacitive sensor and an LCR meter, the frequency response of the phantoms was determined. Analysis of the statistical characteristics of the differences in the frequency response curves showed significant differences (up to 8% for active R and 4% for reactive X components). The results confirmed the operability of the dielectric impedance spectroscopy method. An important direction for further research is to determine the most informative frequency range.