Development of a Theoretical Microwave Model to Predict the Dielectric Properties of Articular Cartilage Tissues

Abstract

Recently, a growing research on the electromagnetic properties of biological tissues has been observed, particularly at microwave frequencies. The frequency variation of the dielectric properties of tissues at microwave frequencies may be described by the Cole-Cole relaxation model. This model is frequently used by researchers to extrapolate the measured permittivity data to higher frequencies based on polynomial frequency fits. Robust theoretical model that takes into consideration the geometry and distribution of tissue materials is much demanded. The aim of this paper is to develop a structured model to predict the dielectric properties of human cartilage tissues based on their microstructure. The presented approach is multi-scale which begins from the microscopic scale and derives the macroscopic properties after several scale-steps. The predicted model agrees reasonably with the estimated values of Cole-Cole relaxation model. Such a model would be useful in developing microwave imaging and patient treatment planning. Moreover, this model is expected to find application in non-invasive medical sensing where it can relate dielectric response to pathological structural changes in the tissue.