Magda El-Shenawee is applying her expertise in landmine detection to discovering a better way to find breast cancer tumors. "Whether a landmine or a tumor, they're both hidden objects that can kill people," she said.

As a result of her research, women will be able to get cheaper, safer, more comfortable and more convenient breast cancer exams. Instead of using a traditional x-ray, as with mammograms, El-Shenawee would use signal processing to define the signature of the tumor. The microwave imaging system would use a probe and a source, or a transmitter and receiver, to obtain information about the tumor.

That's the theory. El-Shenawee has received a grant from the Arkansas Biosciences Institute (ABI) and is collaborating with Fred Barlow, associate professor, electrical engineering, to build the initial system. "That system should be up and running by the end of the year," said El-Shenawee. "Once we build the system, we can show that it works. I hope we can go all the way to clinical trials."

El-Shenawee is also collaborating on mine detection methods along with scientists at the Sub Surface Sensing and Imaging Center at Northeastern University in Boston. One of the biggest challenges in detecting a landmine is the dirt that surrounds it. That dirt can be sandy, gritty, muddy or even frozen. Defining the dirt is crucial because you can't detect a mine if the sensors can't separate it from the soil around it.

El-Shenawee developed a three-dimensional model of dirt using an innovative technique called the steepest descent fast multilevel multipole method, or SDFMM. It's a combination of mathematical equations that calculate the electric and magnetic currents on the surface of an object. She originally used it to study radar scattering on the surface of the ocean. "I thought `This is perfect. Why don't we apply this technique to landmine detection?'" she said.

The model she designed helps detect the cheaper and more prevalent plastic anti-personnel mines. These can be tiny, and they're often difficult to find - buried unmarked and forgotten.

But El-Shenawee's breast cancer research is close to her heart. "I'm a woman and I'm over 40, so I know and understand the need for a better way to detect breast cancer," she said.