microDiagnosis

microDIAGNOSIS: Microwave-based diagnosis for pneumothorax and detection of air cavities in body (2012 - 2015)

microDiagnosis proposes a microwave-based portable device for non-invasive, safe and real-time detection of air cavities in a human or animal body. A diagnostic microwave-based method is employed in order to originally detect and secondarily quantitatively assess the enclosed air in the body cavities. The body-region of interest is exposed to a low power microwave radiator, e.g. conformal antenna placed at close proximity, achieving the best contact with the skin. The reflected microwave signal is detected by the microwave sensor. Diagnosis method is based on the characteristics of the reflected microwave signal and the differential post processing of the signal between healthy subjects and patients. The study describes the frequency-dependent dielectric properties of the biological tissues and it justifies the selection of the optimal frequency range used for the microwave-based sensor.

The main scope of the proposed research is to introduce a novel, efficient, small and smart medical diagnostic device with wireless capabilities. A prototype will be delivered based on analytical, numerical and laboratory experiments.

The proposed research plan comprises of the following phases:

• Parametric analytical and numerical assessment of the interaction between layered tissue model exposed to plane wave
• Numerical description of the microwave-based sensor model
• Parametric numerical assessment of the microwave-based sensor diagnosis performance on layered tissue and anatomical correct models
• Parametric experimental assessment of the microwave-based sensor diagnosis performance on tissue phantom
• Integration of the microwave-based sensor and wireless communication link evaluation
• Parametric experimental assessment of the microwave-based sensor diagnosis performance during in vivo measurements on pigs
• Co-ordination of the research proposal and dissemination of scientific results