  This work demonstrates an application of near field indirect microwave
holography for the detection of malignant tissues in the human breast in an
effective way. The holograms are recorded by two directive antennas aligned
along each other's boresight while performing a raster scan over a 2D plane
utilizing XY-linear motorized translation stage and a uniform reference wave.
The whole information i.e. amplitude and phase of an object has been provided
by indirect holography at microwave frequencies. The extracted phase values are
used to determine the dielectric permittivity values which are further utilized
for the identification and validating the positions of malignant tissues in the
breast phantom. The experimental evaluations performed on the in-house designed
and developed tissue mimicking 3D printed breast phantoms. The experimental
results demonstrate the ability of microwave holography using directive
antennas in locating and identifying the tumors up to the minimum size of 4mm
and a maximum depth of 25mm in fabricated phantom. The preliminary results
present the potential of the Near Field Indirect Holographic Imaging (NFIHI) in
order to develop an efficient and economical tool for breast cancer detection.
