A computational study on number of elements in antenna array for focused microwave breast hyperthermia

In view of the drawbacks of currently adopted breast cancer treatment techniques, novel method is needed to accomplish safe and efficient breast cancer therapy. Focused microwave breast hyperthermia (FMBH) is a promising breast cancer treatment approach. The FMBH mechanism uses a phased antenna array to deliver microwave power into a breast and takes advantage of beamforming to focus microwave fields at a tumor. By this manner, the tumor is efficiently heated while the rest normal tissues receive less energy. This work studies the effect of number of elements in the phased array antenna used in FMBH by computational modeling. Simulations are conducted and obtained results prove that using more antennas can enhance the focusing. This work is meaningful for related areas of microwave hyperthermia.