Mapping MRI Intensity to the Dielectric Properties of Body Tissues Using Microwave Imaging

Mapping a nonlinear relationship between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) intensity and the dielectric properties of body tissues is proposed using the microwave imaging. The main assumption in our approach is that in a specific tissue area a nonlinear mapping can be considered between the MRI intensity and the electromagnetic properties. Once this relationship is obtained, the MRI intensity information can be converted directly to the dielectric properties of tissues. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated using anatomically-realistic numerical breast phantoms. The results show that in the presence of different levels of noise, the relationship between MRI intensity and dielectric properties of tissues can be accurately retrieved.