Millimeter wavelength thermographic scanner.

Two new types of thermographic instruments sensitive to millimeter-wave electromagnetic radiation have been designed, constructed, and tested. These instruments utilize wavelengths that are three orders of magnitude longer and much more penetrating than those used in conventional infrared thermography. The instruments are capable of detecting apparent thermal variations as small as a fraction of a degree existing at tissue depths of several millimeters below the skin. By comparison, conventional IR thermographic units are limited to sampling radiation emitted only from the surface. The millimeter wave thermographic units are designed to contribute to the clinical detection of breast abnormalities with the specific aim of accurately and noninvasively detecting breast cancer.