Effect of Source Polarization on Computed Tomography using Low Frequency Electromagnetic Energy

We have shown in recent work that computed tomography (CT) using low-frequency electromagnetic energy provides a resolution significantly below the diffraction limit, as long as the object under examination is electrically very small. This encouraging finding was based on the “ray-like” behavior of electromagnetic energy when traversing electrically small objects. However, and distinct from the X-ray based CT modality, low-frequency energy provides an additional feature which is not available in X rays, namely polarization. This work explores numerically the effect of source polarization on the CT using low frequency electromagnetic energy. These findings may have strong implications in providing higher contrast for specific body anomalies and may provide contrast between benign and malignant tumors.