Detection of Blood Clots inside the Brain using Microwave Imaging

In this paper, a microwave head imaging system is utilized for the detection of blood clots inside the brain. The imaging plane is divided into four quarters, and each quarter is scanned for imaging. A miniaturized wideband antipodal Vivaldi antenna is placed at nine different positions in front of each quarter of a numerical head model with blood clots for accumulation of reflected signals in a monostatic approach. The reflected signals are processed using delay-and-sum beamforming method to reconstruct an image of the head. Thus, four separate images are obtained by scanning through four quarters. Finally, a comparison of peak intensities obtained in the four images is made, where the observation of a higher intensity in a specific quarter could indicate the probable presence and approximate location of an anomaly, i.e., blood clot in that quarter.