Dielectric models of normal and diseased human trabecular bones at microwave frequencies

Amin, B., Mehboob, A., Dunne, E., González-Suárez, A., Krewer, F., Lowery, A., et al. (2025). Dielectric Models of Normal and Diseased Human Trabecular Bones at Microwave Frequencies. IEEE Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation, https://doi.org/10.1109/OJAP.2025.3646766

Abstract

The dielectric properties of biological tissues are used to investigate the interaction of electromagnetic (EM) fields with the human body. These properties are integrated into EM numerical simulations, such as the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method, using dielectric models such as Cole-Cole and Debye models. These computational tools are employed to study the propagation of EM waves within the human body. This paper has developed the one-pole and two-pole Cole-Cole and Debye models for the dielectric properties of normal and diseased human trabecular bone tissue at microwave frequencies (0.5 – 8.5 GHz). The dielectric properties of normal trabecular and cortical bone were derived based on the literature, while those of diseased human trabecular bones (osteoporotic and osteoarthritis) were acquired from a previous study conducted by the authors, which characterised the properties within the 0.5 – 8.5 GHz frequency range. This study has employed a weighted least squares method to optimise the one-pole and two-pole dielectric models parameters. The accuracy of the developed dielectric models is validated by comparing the simulated results with the experimental data already published by the authors. The comparative analysis of the models demonstrated that the one-pole Cole-Cole model achieved a better fit compared to the one-pole Debye model across all bone types. Additionally, the two-pole Cole-Cole model exhibited a better fit than the two-pole Debye model. The proposed models can be used in numerical simulations to investigate the interaction of EM fields with bone tissue and develop and optimise microwave bone health monitoring and treatment techniques.

Funder

College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Galway
European Union

Publisher

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Rights

CC BY

cb

Collections

Publications