# Simultaneous Microwave and MR Imaging for Improved Diagnosis of Breast Abnormalities

> **NIH NIH R01** · DARTMOUTH COLLEGE · 2024 · $555,556

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
This Academic-Industry Partnership, AIP, proposal (PAR-18-009) will develop and evaluate an innovative
multi-modality breast imaging platform that performs simultaneous Microwave and Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (sMMRI). It incorporates a multiple-principal-investigator (multi-PI) research plan and AIP governance
structure that leverages expertise from Dartmouth, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, and Quality Electrodynamics (QED)
in biomedical engineering, MRI and microwave physics, computational inversion and estimation, and breast
radiology. Industry partner QED will apply its extensive experience in design and implementation of specialized
MRI coils that will be fully integrated and compatible with Dartmouth’s microwave imaging (MI) electronics and
in-bore antenna array. To date, we have demonstrated technical feasibility of sMMRI and have realized a
prototype that has delivered the first successful clinical breast exams. While potential promise of sMMRI has
been suggested, especially in terms of acquiring quantitatively-accurate spatial maps of tissue electrical
properties (i.e. permittivity and conductivity), further technical innovations are needed and more experience
with sMMRI, both technically and clinically, is required to develop the technology sufficiently for a full clinical
evaluation. To advance and optimize sMMRI of the breast while also increasing our understanding of its clinical
potential, we propose to (1) develop and integrate MRI (receive) coils with MI antenna arrays to optimize MRI
and MI image quality, and breast coverage during an sMMRI clinical breast exam, (2) estimate breast tissue
electrical properties from sMMRI data by encoding MRI anatomical priors into the 3D reconstruction process,
and (3) complete phantom and clinical breast imaging experiments with sMMRI to evaluate and optimize the
proposed technical developments, and to conduct a clinical study in women with undiagnosed breast
abnormalities to test the hypothesis that sMMRI improves the specificity of breast MR alone. If the studies we
propose are successful, we will have realized an innovative multi-modality breast imaging platform that is ready
for involvement in larger statistically-powered clinical studies of its diagnostic performance in the future.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10784697
- **Project number:** 5R01CA240760-05
- **Recipient organization:** DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** PAUL M MEANEY
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $555,556
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-02-15 → 2027-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10784697

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10784697, Simultaneous Microwave and MR Imaging for Improved Diagnosis of Breast Abnormalities (5R01CA240760-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10784697. Licensed CC0.

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