Most calibration schemes for reflection-based tissue spectroscopy in the mm-wave/THzfrequency range are based on homogenized, frequency-dependent tissue models where macroscopic material parameters have either been determined by measurement or calculated using effective material theory. However, as the resolution of measurement at these frequencies captures the underlying microstructure of the tissue, we will investigate the validity limits of such effective material models over a wide frequency range (10 MHz -200 GHz). Embedded in a parameterizable virtual workbench, we implemented a numerical homogenization method using a hierarchical multiscale approach to capture both the dispersive and tensorial electromagnetic properties of the tissue, and determined at which frequency this homogenized model deviated from a full-wave electromagnetic reference model within the framework of a Monte-Carlo analysis. Simulations were carried out using a generic hypodermal tissue that emulated the morphology of the microstructure. Results showed that the validity limit occurred at surprisingly low frequencies and thus contradicted the traditional usage of homogenized tissue models. The reasons for this are explained in detail and thus it is shown how both the lower "allowed" and upper "forbidden" frequency ranges can be used for frequency-selective classification/identification of specific material and structural properties employing a supervised machine-learning approach. Using the implemented classifier, we developed a method to identify specific frequency bands in the forbidden frequency range to optimize the reliability of material classification.

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Numerical investigation of the interaction of electromagnetic fields with eukaryotic cells requires specifically adapted computer models. Virtual microdosimetry, used to investigate exposure, requires volumetric cell models, which are numerically challenging. For this reason, a method is presented here to determine the current and volumetric loss densities occurring in single cells and their distinct compartments in a spatially accurate manner as a first step toward multicellular models within the microstructure of tissue layers. To achieve this, 3D models of the electromagnetic exposure of generic eukaryotic cells of different shape (i.e. spherical and ellipsoidal) and internal complexity (i.e. different organelles) are performed in a virtual, finite element method-based capacitor experiment in the frequency range from 10 Hz to 100 GHz. In this context, the spectral response of the current and loss distribution within the cell compartments is investigated and any effects that occur are attributed either to the dispersive material properties of these compartments or to the geometric characteristics of the cell model investigated in each case. In these investigations, the cell is represented as an anisotropic body with an internal distributed membrane system of low conductivity that mimics the endoplasmic reticulum in a simplified manner. This will be used to determine which details of the cell interior need to be modeled, how the electric field and the current density will be distributed in this region, and where the electromagnetic energy is absorbed in the microstructure regarding electromagnetic microdosimetry. Results show that for 5 G frequencies, membranes make a significant contribution to the absorption losses. Bioelectromagnetics. 44:26-46, 2023.