KR101077556B1 - Apparatus and method for diagnosing breast cancer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for diagnosing breast cancer, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for diagnosing breast cancer using electromagnetic waves.

The breast cancer diagnosis apparatus according to the present invention includes a tank into which a breast can be inserted, flexible transceivers that are located in the tank, transmit and receive electromagnetic waves, and are capable of extending and rotating stepwise to an upper portion of the tank, and a breast inserted into the tank. And a processor for controlling the rotation of each of the bent transceivers so that the distance from the surface to each bent transceiver is constant and calculating phase and amplitude information of the electromagnetic waves received through the bent transceivers.

Breast Cancer, Microwave, Antenna

Description

Breast cancer diagnosis apparatus and method {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DIAGNOSING BREAST CANCER}

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for diagnosing breast cancer, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for diagnosing breast cancer using electromagnetic waves.

The present invention is derived from a study conducted as part of the IT source technology development project of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and ICT [2007-F-043-02, Electromagnetic wave based diagnosis and protection technology research].

In general, breast cancer is adenocarcinoma of the breast (腺癌: adenocarcinoma), which is one of the most common cancers of women, many researches on the diagnosis and treatment of this.

Currently, the most commonly used early diagnosis of breast cancer is the detection of heterogeneous tissues present in the breast through mechanical examination. Despite the advantage that the examination process is relatively simple, the success rate of diagnosis is extremely low. It is rarely performed in parallel with secondary diagnostic methods such as biopsy. Therefore, there is a need for a method for diagnosing breast cancer through more accurate mechanical examination.

Meanwhile, as a method for diagnosing breast cancer, a diagnosis method using far infrared rays, X-rays, and ultrasound is generally used. However, the method for diagnosing breast cancer using far-infrared rays is determined by measuring the temperature inside the body tissue and determining and diagnosing general tissue and cancer tissue according to the temperature difference, which has a problem in that the accuracy of breast cancer diagnosis is inferior. In the breast cancer diagnosis method using X-ray, radiation is transmitted through the human body to determine and diagnose a cancer tissue. The method using the radiation is harmful to the human body, in particular, when the radiation is transmitted to the human body there is a problem that the weak radiation is constantly remaining in the human body. In addition, the imaging method using ultrasound is a method of diagnosing breast cancer through an image using ultrasound. The method of using the ultrasound image has a problem in that the accuracy of breast cancer diagnosis is inferior in clarity by discriminating cancer tissues.

Another method of diagnosing breast cancer is microwave tomography, which uses electromagnetic waves that are not harmful to the human body. The electromagnetic tomography is a method for detecting tumors present in the breast by using an antenna for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves. In more detail, the electromagnetic waves emitted from the antenna are scattered when passing through the inside of the subject (breast). The scattered electromagnetic waves are acquired to distribute the images (distribution of dielectric constant and conductivity) based on the backscatter analysis. Restore). In order to reconstruct a three-dimensional image of the breast using an apparatus using electromagnetic tomography, it is important to scan the breast while keeping the antenna at a constant distance from the surface of the breast. However, the breast is curved, making it difficult to space the antenna and the surface of the breast at regular intervals. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain a high quality three-dimensional image. In addition, in order to space the surface of the antenna and the breast at regular intervals, the degree of freedom of the antenna should be 3 or more, it is difficult to actually implement the antenna of more than 3 degrees of freedom.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a breast cancer diagnosis apparatus capable of acquiring tomographic images of breasts of high quality.

The present invention also provides a method for diagnosing breast cancer capable of acquiring tomographic images of breasts of high quality.

According to the present invention, a device for diagnosing breast cancer includes a tank capable of inserting a breast, at least two flexible transceivers positioned within the tank, transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves, and capable of stepwise stretching and rotating to an upper portion of the tank; A processor configured to control rotation of each of the bent transceivers so that a distance from the surface of the breast inserted into the tank is constant, and calculate phase and amplitude information of electromagnetic waves received through the bent transceivers; It includes.

In addition, the method according to the present invention is a method for diagnosing breast cancer, the process of measuring the spatial information of the breast inserted into the tank, and located in the tank, transmit and receive electromagnetic waves, it is possible to step up to the top of the tank, the rotation is possible Arranging the at least two flexible transceivers around the breast, and rotating the lower portion of each of the flexible transceivers so as to space an upper portion of each of the flexible transceivers by a predetermined distance from the surface of the breast. And, the curved transceiver sequentially radiates electromagnetic waves, and the curved transceivers that do not emit electromagnetic waves include the step of receiving the electromagnetic wave, and calculating the amplitude and phase information of the received electromagnetic wave.

Using the apparatus and method according to the present invention has the advantage of obtaining a high quality tomographic image of the breast.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a part obvious to those skilled in the art will be omitted so as not to disturb the gist of the present invention. In addition, it is to be noted that each of the terms described below are only used to help the understanding of the present invention, and may be used in different terms despite the same purpose in each manufacturing company or research group.

The diagnostic method proposed in the description of the present invention is described based on breast cancer, but may be applied to other tumor diagnosis methods through modification of the present invention. Next, a breast cancer diagnosis apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective cross-sectional view of a breast cancer diagnosis apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention when viewed from the side. 2 is a perspective cross-sectional view of a breast cancer diagnosis apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above.

Referring to FIG. 1, the breast cancer diagnosis apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may insert a breast 100, and a tank 150 filled with a medium 160 to increase the transmittance of electromagnetic waves passing through the breast 100. Has And inside the tank 150 includes a specific device according to the invention. In addition, the tank 150 may have a size at which the breast 100, which is an object of breast cancer diagnosis, may be sufficiently inserted into the medium 160.

The inside of the tank 150 is provided with a curved transceiver 110 that can transmit or receive electromagnetic waves. In FIG. 1, one curved transceiver 110 is illustrated for convenience of description, and in fact, as shown in FIG. 2, at least two or more curved transceivers are provided in the tank 150. Reference numeral 120 denotes a case in which the curved transceiver 110 located at the first end face 100a of the breast 100 moves to the second end face 100b of the breast 100.

First, looking at the cross section of the breast 100, the upper end of the breast 100 has a narrow cross section, the lower end has a wide cross section. That is, in FIG. 1, the first cross section of reference numeral 100a is located at the lower end of the second cross section of reference numeral 100b and has a wide cross section. Therefore, when using a general antenna, the distance from the first end face 100a to the antenna and the distance from the second end face 100b to the antenna are different. Therefore, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the distance from the surface of the breast 100 to the antenna 110a is constant by using a curved transmitter / receiver.

Here, the curved transmitter / receiver will be described in more detail. In the present invention, the curved transmitter / receiver is defined in five forms. The shape of such a curved transmitter / receiver will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the first curved transmitter / receiver 110 may raise the antenna 110a to the top of the tank 150 or to the bottom of the tank 150, and the antenna 110a. A first line and a second line having a predetermined length in a normal direction connected to one side of the first line and to the other side of the second line, the first line being rotatable and being parallel to the first line and having electromagnetic waves It consists of a third line mounted with an antenna (110a) for transmitting and receiving.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the second curved transmitter / receiver may raise the antenna 310a to the upper portion of the tank 150 or lower the lower portion of the tank 150 and the antenna 310a. The first line to enable the rotatable, the third line parallel to the first line and mounted with an antenna 310a for transmitting / receiving electromagnetic waves, and the first line or the third line in a straight line instead of the normal line of the third line. It consists of a 2nd line which connects a 1st line and a said 3rd line.

As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the third bent transmitter / receiver connects the first line and the second line in the second bent transmitter / receiver shown in FIG. The first connecting portion is formed in a curved form or the second connecting portion connecting the second line and the third line is formed in a curved form, or the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are configured in a curved form. do.

As shown in (c) of FIG. 3, the fourth curved transmitter / receiver may raise the antenna 310a to the upper portion of the tank 150 or lower the lower portion of the tank 150 and the antenna 310a. It is composed of a first line to enable the rotatable, a second line having an angle greater than 90 ° and mounted with an antenna 310a for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves.

The fifth bent transmitter / receiver, as shown in (d) of FIG. 3, is a connecting portion connecting the first line and the second line of the fourth bent transmitter / receiver shown in (c) of FIG. Is composed of curved lines.

In the following description, any of the five bent transmitters / receivers described above may be used. Therefore, this is collectively referred to as a bent antenna.

As described above, the curved transmitter / receiver maintains a constant distance from the surface of the breast 100 to the antenna 110a by a predetermined interval by rotating the first line even when the cross-sectional area of the breast 100 is changed. You can. Then, a breast cancer diagnosis apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described again with reference to FIG. 1. Here, it should be noted that FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of the first curved transmitter / receiver as described above.

The curved transmitter / receiver 110 includes an antenna 110a and a transmission line unit 110b. Here, the transmission line unit 110b may raise the antenna 110a to the upper portion of the tank 150 or lower to the lower portion of the tank 150, and the first line and the first line to allow the antenna 110a to rotate. A second line having a predetermined length in a normal direction connected to one side of the line, and connected to the other side of the second line, and having an antenna 110a parallel to the first line and transmitting / receiving electromagnetic waves It consists of a 3rd track.

The transmission line unit 110b of the curved transmitter / receiver 110 transmits the electromagnetic waves received by the antenna 110a to a processing unit (not shown) provided outside the tank 150 and supports the antenna 110a. It plays a role. In addition, the first line of the transmission line portion 110b is formed to pass through the tank 150, and is disposed to be perpendicular to the bottom surface of the tank 150.

In addition, a portion of the tank 150 penetrated by the first line of the transmission line part 110b is provided with a sealing 155 to prevent the medium 160 filled in the tank 150 from leaking to the outside.

In addition, the apparatus for diagnosing breast cancer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a processor (not shown) that is not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The processor (not shown) controls the extension, reduction and rotation of the curved transmitter / receiver 110. In addition, the processor (not shown) controls the intensity and frequency of electromagnetic waves emitted from the antenna 110a of the curved transmitter / receiver 110. In addition, the processor (not shown) is the amplitude of the electromagnetic wave transmitted from the bent transmitter / receiver acting as a transmitter among the plurality of bent transmitters / receivers 110 shown in FIG. 2 and received by the remaining bent transmitters / receivers. And phase information.

In addition, the processor (not shown) may control the rotation angles of each of the bent transmitters and receivers shown in FIG. 2 differently. More specifically, since the cross-sections 100a and 100b of the breast 100 shown in FIG. 2 have an ideal circle shape, both the curved transmitters and receivers are rotated by a constant rotational angle. However, since the cross section of the general breast 100 is not perfectly circular as shown in FIG. 2, the processor (not shown) may control the rotation angles of each of the curved transmitters / receivers differently in consideration of the actual cross-sectional shape of the breast. Can be.

In addition, the breast cancer diagnosis apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a sensor (not shown) not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Such a sensor (not shown) is located in the tank 150 to measure spatial information of the breast 100 inserted into the tank 150, and provide the measured information to a processor (not shown). Then, the processor (not shown) controls the stretching, reduction and rotation of each of the plurality of curved transmitters / receivers based on the spatial information of the breast 100, thereby respectively the breast 100 and the plurality of curved transmitters / receivers. Keep this constant distance. Here, the sensor (not shown) is preferably a non-contact sensor using a laser or ultrasonic waves.

Meanwhile, an image processor (not shown) may be used instead of the sensor (not shown) described above in a breast cancer diagnosis apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The image processor (not shown) is preferably located in the tank 150. The image processor (not shown) photographs the breast 100 inserted into the tank 150 and then generates image information of the breast 100. For example, the image processor (not shown) photographs the breast 100 inserted into the tank 150 using a device having a similar function as a camera, and then generates image information of the breast 100. The generated image information is provided to a processing unit (not shown), and the processing unit (not shown) measures spatial information of the breast 100 inserted into the tank 150 based on the image information of the provided breast 100. In addition, the processing unit (not shown) controls the stretching, reduction, and rotation of each of the plurality of curved transmitters / receivers using spatial information of the breast 100, respectively, the breast 100 and the plurality of curved transmitters / receivers, respectively. Keep this constant distance.

Then, referring to Figures 1 and 2, the operation of the breast cancer diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, when the breast 100 is inserted into and fixed to the medium 160 of the tank 150, the processing unit (not shown) may use a sensor (not shown) provided in the tank 150. The spatial information of the breast 100 is measured. Here, the sensor (not shown) may be implemented as a non-contact sensor using a laser, a non-contact sensor using an ultrasonic wave. In addition, the processor (not shown) may photograph the breast 100 using the above-described image processor (not shown), and then measure spatial information of the breast 100 using the captured image information. The spatial information of the breast 100 measured by the sensor or the image processor is stored in the processor (not shown).

Then, when the user wants to acquire a tomography image of the breast 100 with respect to the first end face 100a of the breast 100, the processor (not shown) may be configured to each of the plurality of curved transmitters / receivers 110. The antennas 110a are disposed around the first end face 100a. Thereafter, the processing unit (not shown) of each of the transmission line units 110b separates the antennas 110a of each of the plurality of curved transmitters / receivers 110 by a predetermined distance 115a from the breast 100. The first line is rotated using the rotating shaft 130. In this case, since the processing unit (not shown) stores spatial information of the breast 100 inserted into the tank 150 in advance, the antenna 110a of each of the plurality of curved transmitters / receivers 110 may be placed on the breast ( It may be spaced apart from the predetermined distance (115a) from the 100.

When the antennas 110a of each of the plurality of curved transmitters / receivers 110 are spaced apart from the surface of the breast 100 by a predetermined distance 115a, the processing unit (not shown) may be configured as the transmission line unit 110b. Stop the rotation

After the above process is completed, the processor (not shown) determines a transmitter that emits electromagnetic waves among the plurality of curved transmitters / receivers 110. And the transmitter is controlled to radiate electromagnetic waves. Then, when the electromagnetic wave is emitted from the transmitter, the receivers other than the transmitter receive the electromagnetic wave emitted from the transmitter. Then, the electromagnetic waves received by each receiver are transmitted to a processing unit (not shown), and the processing unit (not shown) calculates amplitude and phase information of the received electromagnetic waves by using an inverse scattering analysis method.

Thereafter, the calculated information is collected, and a processing unit (not shown) restores a tomographic image of the first end surface 110a of the breast 100 and provides it to an image output device (not shown).

Using the above process, the tomography image of the second end face 100b of the breast 100 may also be restored.

As described above, the apparatus for diagnosing breast cancer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may maintain a plurality of curved transmitters / receivers 110 provided in the tank 150 by a predetermined value from a surface of the breast 100. have. Therefore, tomographic images of breasts of high quality can be restored.

The present invention described above may be implemented by some or all of the above-described configuration, and various substitutions within the scope not departing from the technical idea of the present invention for those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, Modifications and variations are possible and are not limited by the foregoing embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective cross-sectional view of a breast cancer diagnosis apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention when viewed from the side.

2 is a perspective cross-sectional view of a breast cancer diagnosis apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above.

3 is a diagram illustrating various forms of a curved transmitter / receiver used in a breast cancer diagnosis apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (11)

In breast cancer diagnosis device, A tank that can insert a breast, At least two bent transceivers located in the tank, transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves, and capable of stepwise stretching to an upper portion of the tank, and capable of rotating; Controlling the rotation of each of the curved transceivers so that the distance from the surface of the breast inserted into the tank to the respective flexible transceivers is constant, and calculating phase and amplitude information of the electromagnetic waves received through the curved transceivers. Processing Including, breast cancer diagnostic device. The method of claim 1, A sensor located in the tank, the sensor sensing a breast inserted into the tank; And the processor controls rotation of each of the curved transceivers such that the distance between the surface of the breast sensed by the sensor and the flexible transceivers is a predetermined distance. The method of claim 1, An image processing unit located in the tank and generating image information of the breast by photographing the breast inserted into the tank; And the processor controls rotation of each of the curved transceivers such that the distance between the surface of the breast and the curved transceivers is a predetermined distance using the generated image information. According to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the bent transceiver, A first line capable of raising or lowering an antenna for transmitting / receiving electromagnetic waves to an upper portion of the tank or lowering the lower portion of the tank, wherein the antenna is rotatable; A second line connected to one side of the first line and having a predetermined length in a normal direction; A third line connected to the other side of the second line and parallel to the first line and mounted with the antenna Including, breast cancer diagnostic device. According to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the bent transceiver, A first line capable of raising or lowering an antenna for transmitting / receiving electromagnetic waves to an upper portion of the tank or lowering the lower portion of the tank, wherein the antenna is rotatable; A third line parallel to the first line and mounted with the antenna, A second line connecting the first line and the third line in a straight line; Including, breast cancer diagnostic device. The method of claim 5, wherein the bent transceiver, The first connection portion connecting the first line and the second line is curved, or the second connection portion connecting the second line and the third line is curved, breast cancer diagnostic apparatus. According to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the bent transceiver, A first line capable of raising or lowering an antenna for transmitting / receiving electromagnetic waves to an upper portion of the tank or lowering the lower portion of the tank, wherein the antenna is rotatable; A second line having one side connected to the first line at an angle greater than 90 ° and smaller than 180 °, and having the antenna mounted on the other side Including, breast cancer diagnostic device. The method of claim 7, wherein the bent transceiver, The connecting portion connecting the first line and the second line has a curved shape, breast cancer diagnostic device. In the breast cancer diagnosis method, Measuring spatial information of the breast inserted into the tank, Placing at least two flexible transceivers located in the tank, transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves, and being capable of stepwise stretching to an upper portion of the tank and being rotatable around the breast; Rotating a lower portion of each of the curved transceivers to space the upper portion of each of the curved transceivers from a surface of the breast by a predetermined distance; The curved transceivers sequentially radiating electromagnetic waves, and the curved transceivers not radiating electromagnetic waves receive electromagnetic waves; Calculating amplitude and phase information of the received electromagnetic wave Including, breast cancer diagnostic method. The method of claim 9, wherein the measuring of spatial information of the breast comprises: Using a sensor located in the tank. The method of claim 9, wherein the measuring of spatial information of the breast comprises: And an image processor configured to generate image information of the breast inserted into the tank and positioned in the tank.

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