How it works

The MARIA system, a new breast imaging modality, is based on radio wave technology.

MARIA offers new diagnostic information in dense tissue whilst requiring no breast compression or ionising radiation exposure to the patient. This makes the system safe and comfortable for the patient and hopefully, an alternative to Mammography in the future.

The array consists of 60 radio frequency antennae that surround the breast.

They are configured to operate over a wide range of frequencies. Each antenna transmits and the other 59 record the signal back from the breast tissue which allows MARIA to build up a 3D map of tissue variation throughout the breast. The system is measuring signals that travel through the breast, any attenuation in this signal as well as any scatter back of the signal.

The scanning process takes less than 5 minutes. The data is then reconstructed before being presented to the clinician as a 3D volume.

In clinical trials to date MARIA has proven to locate regions that correspond to invasive breast cancer as shown by biopsy and histology.