Microwave Near-field Imaging of Biological Samples Using a Microstrip Resonator Probe

ABSTRACT

In this paper, a microwave microscope for nondestructive evaluation of biological tissues using a near-field probe is described. For this purpose, a near-field probe to obtain microwave image with high resolution at 18.6 GHz is designed and the proposed method is experimentally evaluated in reflectometry imaging scenarios involving different tissues of raw chicken. We employ the technique to detect hidden sebaceous glands below the skin. In this regard, a 2D image of hidden sebaceous glands is provided using changes in the amplitude of reflection coefficient at resonant frequency. Measurement results show that the probe could accurately detect the hidden sebaceous glands with at least 20 dB magnitude and more than 600 MHz frequency shifts contrast. Also, the results show strong implications in a wide range of subsurface detection challenges including detection of biological anomalies in human tissues such as detection of small tumors below of human skin in the early-stage detection of skin cancers.

KEYWORDS:

• Biological anomalies
• Microwave imaging
• Near-field
• Nondestructive evaluation
• Probe
• Subsurface imaging

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fatemeh Kazemi

Fatemeh Kazemi was born in Zahedan, Iran. She received BSc and MSc degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Sistan and Baluchestan in 2005 and 2010, respectively. She is currently working towards the PhD degree at the University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran. Her research concerns include microwave imaging, analysis and design of near-field probes, SSI and its applications. Email: [email protected]

Farahnaz Mohanna

Farahnaz Mohanna received the BSc degree in electronics engineering from the University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran in 1987, the MSc degree in electronics engineering from the University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran in 1992, and the PhD degree in image processing from the University of Surrey, Guildford, UK in 2002. She continued working as a research fellow at the Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing (CVSSP) at the Surrey University, UK in 2003. She is currently an assistant professor at the University of Sistan and Baluchestan. Her research interests include communications, medical imaging, image processing and computer vision.

Javad Ahmadi-Shokouh

Javad Ahmadi-Shokouh received the BSc degree in electrical engineering from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran in 1993, the MSc degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran in 1995, and the PhD degree in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada in 2008. He was also with the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada (2008–2009) as a Postdoctoral Fellow. He is currently an associate professor at the University of Sistan and Baluchestan. His research interests are antenna and microwave systems for all applications, millimeter wave, smart antennas and microwave imaging. Email: [email protected]