1. A mammography scanning system comprising:
a first antenna array configured to transmit and receive an ultra wide band (UWB) sensor signal;
a transmitter configured to provide a pseudo-random coding to the UWB sensor signal; and
a correlating receiver in communication with the first antenna array and configured to use the pseudo-random coding of the UWB sensor signal to provide a processing gain to extract low energy reflected signals from background noise.
2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:
a converter configured to convert a base band signal of the UWB sensor signal to in-phase and quadrature (I and Q) signals to provide a phase measurement at the correlating receiver; and
a signal processor configured to use the phase measurement to classify a plurality of abnormal cell clusters by their detected phase differences.
3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:
the first antenna array is configured to transmit and receive the UWB sensor signal at a first polarization;
a second antenna array configured to receive the UWB sensor signal at a second polarization different from the first polarization;
a second correlating receiver in communication with the first antenna array and configured to detect a phase difference between the UWB sensor signal at the first polarization and the UWB sensor signal at the second polarization; and
a processor configured to provide a characterization of different types of cancer cell clusters using the detected phase difference.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein:
the pseudo-random coding is a Hadamard coding; and
first antenna array is a stationary and electronically steerable array antenna.
5. The system of claim 1, further comprising:
a first sensor using a first Hadamard coding of a first UWB sensor signal to scan a subject on a first channel;
a second sensor using a second Hadamard coding of a second UWB sensor signal to scan the subject on a second channel; and
a processor configured to provide cross channel suppression, using the Hadamard coding, to process an image of the subject.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the UWB sensor signal is a radio frequency (RF) signal that has a frequency in the V-band or the W-band and a bandwidth of at least 3 GHz.
7. The system of claim 1, where the transmitter and the receiver are arranged in a backscattering alignment configuration for operation of the first antenna array for both transmission and reception.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the scanning system is handheld and moved in a radial scan around a subject.
9. A method for millimeter wave mammography scanning, the method comprising:
transmitting and receiving an ultra wide band (UWB) sensor signal using a first antenna array;
providing a pseudo-random coding to the UWB sensor signal; and
correlating the transmitted and received UWB sensor signals using the pseudo-random coding of the UWB sensor signal to provide a processing gain to offset attenuation of the reflected received UWB sensor signals.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
converting a base band signal of the UWB sensor signal to in-phase and quadrature (I and Q) signals to enable a phase measurement at a correlating receiver;
performing signal processing using the phase measurement to classify a plurality of abnormal cell clusters by using differences in the phase measurement for each cell cluster.
11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
transmitting and receiving the UWB sensor signal at a first polarization;
receiving the UWB sensor signal at a second polarization different from the first polarization;
correlating the transmitted and received UWB sensor signals at the first polarization using a first correlating receiver;
correlating the transmitted and received UWB sensor signals at the second polarization using a second correlating receiver;
detecting a phase difference between the UWB sensor signal at the first polarization and the UWB sensor signal at the second polarization; and
processing the detected phase difference to provide a characterization of different types of cancer cell clusters.
12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
providing a Hadamard coding to the UWB sensor signal; and
scanning a subject using a wafer scale antenna array from a stationary position using electronic beam forming and beam steering.
13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
scanning a subject on a first channel using a first sensor with a first Hadamard coding of a first UWB sensor signal;
scanning the subject on a second channel using a second sensor with a second Hadamard coding of a second UWB sensor signal;
processing the first UWB sensor signal and the second UWB sensor signal using the Hadamard coding to provide cross channel suppression and resolve information from the distinct signals, the first UWB sensor signal and the second UWB sensor signal.
14. The method of claim 9, wherein the UWB sensor signal is a radio frequency (RF) signal that has a frequency in the V-band or the W-band and a UWB bandwidth of at least 3 GHz.
15. The method of claim 9, further comprising providing a transmitter and a receiver in a backscattering alignment configuration for transmitting and receiving the ultra wide band (UWB) sensor signal using the first antenna array.
16. The method of claim 9, further comprising scanning a subject in a radial pattern around the subject using a handheld device for performing the transmitting and receiving, coding, and correlating operations.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A wiper control apparatus comprising:
a wiper configured to wipe away water drops adhering to a windshield of a vehicle;
a wiper driving portion configured to drive the wiper;
a water drop detector configured to output an output signal in accordance with water drops adhering to the windshield;
a water drop adhesion determination portion configured to determine that water drops adhere to the windshield when a determination waiting time elapses in a state where detection of the output signal continues;
a driving control portion configured to control the wiper driving portion to drive the wiper when the water drop adhesion determination portion determines that water drops adhere to the windshield;
a traveling determination portion configured to determine whether the vehicle is traveling;
a first level setting portion configured to set a sensitivity for detecting the output signal to a first sensitivity when the traveling determination portion determines that the vehicle is traveling; and
a second level setting portion configured to set the sensitivity for detecting the output signal to a second sensitivity that is lower than the first sensitivity when the traveling determination portion determines that the vehicle is not traveling.
2. The wiper control apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the first level setting portion is configured to set the determination waiting time from when the output signal is detected with the first sensitivity till when the water drop adhesion determination portion determines that water drops adhere to the windshield to a first time, and
wherein the second level setting portion is configured to set the determination waiting time from when the output signal is detected with the second sensitivity till when the water drop adhesion determination portion determines that water drops adhere to the windshield to a second time that is equal to or shorter than the first time.
3. The wiper control apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising
a continuousness determination portion configured to determine whether the wiper continues wiping operation, and
a third level setting portion configured to set the sensitivity for detecting the output signal to a third sensitivity that is higher than the first sensitivity when the continuousness determination portion determines that the wiper continues wiping operation.
4. The wiper control apparatus according to claim 3,
wherein the third level setting portion is configured to set the determination waiting time from when the output signal is detected with the third sensitivity till when the water drop adhesion determination portion determines that water drops adhere to the windshield to a third time that is shorter than the second time when the continuousness determination portion determines that the wiper continues wiping operation.