Microwave tomography for detection/imaging of myocardial infarction. I. Excised canine hearts.

We have demonstrated previously that the dielectric properties of myocardium at microwave spectrum are a sensitive indicator of its blood content, ischemia, and infarction. The purpose of this study is to validate the feasibility of microwave tomography for detection of myocardial infarction based on the differences in dielectric properties between normal and infarcted tissues. Excised canine heats with two weeks myocardial infarction were imaged. Tomographic imaging experiments were conducted using a three-dimensional (3D) microwave tomographic system operating at a frequency of 1.0 GHz. To obtain the images, we used 3D reconstruction algorithms. Images of excised canine hearts with myocardial infarction were obtained at a frequency of 1 GHz, applicable for whole body imaging. Microwave tomographic images were compared with anatomical slices. The comparison confirms that microwave tomography is capable of detection of myocardial infarction.