Circular Waveguide Probe Using Broadband Dielectric Lens for Skin Cancer Detection

A nearfield microwave probe for skin cancer detection is presented. The probe consists of a circular waveguide attached to a tapered multilayer dielectric lens. The probe, which covers the band 15-24 GHz, has a contact tip diameter of 2 mm and a sensing depth of 0.8 mm. The probe is designed to ensure significant variations in its reflection coefficient magnitude when in contact with benign and malignant lesions. Thus, a multilayer lens is attached at the end of the waveguide to focus the field inside the skin and enhance the contrast between different lesions and healthy skin. The simulation results show that the probe can identify Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) and its pre-malignant condition, Actinic Keratosis (AK) through a reflection coefficient magnitude contrast reduction of 16.8% and 13.6%, while Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) and Benign Solar Lentigo (BSL)have a reflection coefficient magnitude contrast increment of 13.7 % and 34.5% with respect to the healthy skin response.