Mobile Telecommunications and

Health Research Programme

Dielectric Properties of Tissues at

Microwave Frequencies

A Peyman, S Holden and C Gabriel

RUM 3
Project title: Measurement of the dielectric
properties of biological tissue in
vivo at microwave frequencies

Project reference: RUM 3

Project Director: Dr C Gabriel

Project Monitor: Dr A F McKinlay

Project start date: 1 December 2002

Project end date: 31 December 2004

Final report date: 01 March 2005

Date approved by Monitor: 29 July 2005

Date approved by Chairman: 22 December 2009

Dielectric Properties of Tissues at
Microwave Frequencies
RUM 3
A Peyman*, S Holden and C Gabriel*.
1 Executive Summary
Detailed knowledge of the dielectric properties of
biological tissues is essential to the understanding of
the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with the
body. At the onset of this project, the main source of
tissue dielectric data was a literature review and an
experimental database, completed in 1995 and
published the following year. Ten years on, this
project has consolidated and added to this knowledge
in several important respects, including providing a
literature review of all relevant papers published in
the past decade, and obtaining, analysing and making
available extensive, novel, experimental data
acquired from measurement on live animals and on
tissue excised from animals at various stages of growth
and development. In doing so, this project has
achieved its main objectives.
The project started in January 2002 with the joint
effort of research teams from MCL and DSTL, RF
Bioeffects Group, providing expertise in dielectric
measurements and in the use of live animals in
experimental studies respectively.
During the course of the project, expertise in
dielectric measurement instrumentation and
procedure was transferred to the DSTL team. The
achievement of this goal was tested in a series of
comparative studies and specially designed benchmark
exercises where both teams performed measurements
under well-defined conditions in their respective
laboratories. Following the successful completion of
*MCL 17B Woodford Road, London E18 2EL, DSTL Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 0JQ
this essential initial step, the DSTL team carried out
the major part of the measurement programme on live
and excised tissue. MCL performed all the data
analysis and reporting.
An extensive measurement programme was carried out
leading to the dielectric characterisation of over fifty
live porcine tissues from well developed, but not
mature, animals weighting about 50 kg. The
measurements were made in the frequency range 50
MHz-20 GHz at body temperature. Measurements were
also made on excised tissue, in-vitro. This enabled
comparisons to be made between data obtained under
different physiological conditions. Comparisons were
also made with the 1996 database and the recent
literature of the last decade.
Statistical and comparative analyses were made
leading to the identification and quantification of the
main sources of experimental error and the
development of a procedure to estimate the total
uncertainty in dielectric data. This study addressed
fundamental issues; its outcome is far-reaching serving
the needs not just of this project but also of dielectric
measurement in general.
Measurements were also carried out on excised tissues
from animals in the 10, 50 and 250 kg range
corresponding to young, pubescent and mature
animals. The outcome of this study increased our
understanding of the variation of dielectric properties
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies
with age. Where present, the differences were
quantified.
In the case of the human skin study, data from a
preliminary study on human skin are included, as the
full protocol could not be achieved due to an
administrative obstacle related to ethical issues.
The outcome of this project has been disseminated
throughout the course of the project in international
conferences and workshops. Four papers based on the
data and uncertainty analysis are to be submitted for
publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
The impact of this project on theoretical and
experimental dosimetry can be summarised as follows.
It has strengthened and updated our
knowledge of the dielectric properties of
tissues, which is a fundamental area of
research that is essential to dosimetry. The
new data consolidate our knowledge and
provide statistical bounds that could be used
in theoretical studies for greater accuracy of
prediction. Where appropriate, limits could
also be placed to encompass systematic
variations due to developmental changes.
Experimental dosimetry is another area of increased
scientific activity due to its use in international
standards for testing the compliance with human
exposure guidelines of radio communication devices
and their accessories. One of its requirements is the
formulation and measurement, as accurately as
possible, of the dielectric properties of tissue-
equivalent material and the determination of
measurement uncertainty. The uncertainty analysis in
this report goes a long way towards providing a basis
to make dielectric measurement a routine yet
accurate laboratory procedure.
In general, principal objectives of the projects were
achieved and in some respects exceeded. The project
provides data and analysis for input into numerical and
experimental dosimetry work. It increased our
understanding of the variation of dielectric properties
with age and motivated research on aqueous ionic
2
solutions that proved to be of academic as well as
practical interest.
2 Aims and Objectives
The notable increase in the exposure of people to
electromagnetic fields from wireless
telecommunication devices and infrastructure has
sparked large research programmes into the
assessment and quantification of exposure of people
and on the biological effects resulting from the
exposure. Information on the dielectric properties of
tissues is vital to these studies, for the computation of
exposure metrics and the provision of a mechanistic
explanation for biological effects. At the onset of this
project, there already was a credible database of
dielectric properties of tissue. This project was
designed to update and strengthen it in the following
areas: provision of new data pertaining to live rather
than excised animal tissue samples, assessment of
measurement uncertainties and their origin,
determination of any systematic variations as a
function of age, and dielectric properties of human
skin.
In summary, this project dealt with the determination
of the dielectric properties of human and animal
tissues in vivo, in the mobile telecommunications
frequency range. The measurement programme was
structured to provide the following information:
a database of dielectric properties of tissues
obtained in vivo at microwave frequencies,
a statistical breakdown of measurement
uncertainties and their origin,
a study of changes in the dielectric properties
of tissue as a function of age, and
a study of the dielectric properties of human
skin.

3 Participants
MCL
MCL is an independent scientific research and
consultancy organisation specialising in the interaction
of electromagnetic fields with people. MCL undertakes
a wide range of work for the European Union, the UK
Government, Local Authorities, and businesses as well
as having its own scientific research programme. More
information can be found at www.mcluk.org.
The MCL team involved in this project included
Camelia Gabriel (Managing Director) - responsible for
the management and technical content of the project
and Azadeh Peyman (Senior Research Scientist) -
responsible for day-to-day scientific management and
the analysis of raw data, statistical analysis and
reporting of the final data.
DSTL
Dstl - the Defence Science and Technology
Laboratory, is the centre of scientific excellence for
the UK Ministry of Defence, housing one of the largest
groups of scientists and engineers in public service in
the country.
From DSTL, Simon Holden (Team Leader RF Bioeffects)
acted as focal point for provision of services and
expertise to MCL and directed and co-ordinated the
DSTL specialists.
4 Achievements
This section of the report contains a summary of the
methodology employed in this project as well as a
presentation of the results obtained.
The basic principles of dielectric spectroscopy, which
is the main tool used in this project, are described in
section 4.1. The purpose of the brief outline is to
identify and define the dielectric terms used and to
provide references for further reading on dielectric
theory and its application to biological materials.
Section 4.2 is dedicated to the assessment of the
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies
uncertainties associated with dielectric measurement
instrumentation and procedures. Both systematic and
random errors are considered leading to the
determination of the total combined uncertainties for
both permittivity and conductivity at each frequency.
The materials and methods are described in section
4.3, which also covers details of animal welfare,
surgical procedures and the practical difficulties of
making measurement in-vivo. Although the same
instrumentation and procedures are used for
measurement in-vivo and in-vitro, specific practical
considerations for each case are mentioned separately
in this section.
Finally, section 4.4 is devoted to the presentation of
new data. Tissue data, obtained from measurement
on 50-70 kg pigs, are presented in graphical format in
the frequency range of 50 MHz-20 GHz. For most
tissues, comparisons are made with the corresponding
data from Gabriel et al 1996 [1], and, where
available, with more recently published data.
Examples are given of measurement in-vivo and in-
vitro, the purpose is to identify systematic differences
if any. Data obtained from measurement on excised
tissues from animals in the 10, 50 and 250 kg range
are also presented and inter-compared.
4.1 Dielectric Properties of Tissues
This section deals with some basic concepts of
dielectric spectroscopy and the dielectric spectrum of
a biological tissue. This is followed by a review of the
relevant papers published in the last decade.
4.1.1 Basic Concepts and definitions of
terms
The dielectric properties of materials are obtained
from their measured complex relative permittivity
which, being a relative quantity, has no unit. It is
expressed as
= j
where j = 1 is the relative permittivity, a
measure of the charge displacement and consequent
3
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies
energy stored in the material, and is the out-of-
phase loss factor, a measure of the electrical energy
dissipated. In a perfect dielectric material, losses are
due to displacement currents and the loss factor
can be expressed in terms of a displacement
electrical conductivity d . In biological material, an
external field will induce ionic as well as displacement
currents, ionic currents and corresponding losses are
proportionate with the material ionic conductivity i .
The total conductivity of the material is given by
=d +i
and is related to the loss factor through the expression
= centred in the hundreds of kilohertz region, and is due
0
In practice it is only possible to measure the total
conductivity . Where present , which is
i The dispersion, in the gigahertz region, is due to the
frequency independent, can only be obtain from
dielectric spectral analysis. In the loss factor
expression, 0 is the permittivity of free space and
the angular frequency of the field. The SI unit of
conductivity is siemens per metre (S/m) which
presumes that, in the above expression, 0 is
expressed in farads per metre (F/m) and in radians
per second.
The dielectric properties are determined as and
values, or and values, as a function of
frequency. In this report, will be referred to as
as conductivity expressed in S/m.
permittivity, and
Dielectric properties of tissues
The dielectric properties of a biological tissue are a
measure of the interaction of electromagnetic
radiation with its constituents at the cellular and
molecular level. The mechanisms of interaction are
well understood, the theory underpinned by
experimental data and forming part of a well
established classical theory of bioelectrical
phenomena [2-14]. The main features of the
4
dielectric spectrum of a biological tissue are as
follows:
The dielectric properties of tissues are highly
frequency and temperature dependent. Their
dielectric spectrum consists of three main regions
known as , and dispersions, descriptively referred
to as occurring at low, intermediate and high
frequencies in the frequency range from hertz to
gigahertz.
The low-frequency dispersion in the hertz to
kilohertz range is associated with ionic diffusion
processes at the site of the cellular membrane.
The dispersion, extends over 3-4 frequency decades
mainly to the polarisation of cellular membrane and
organic macromolecules.
molecular polarisation of tissue water. The study of
both and dispersions is outside the scope of this
project as the frequency range investigated extends
from 50 to 20000 MHz, revealing the tail end of the
dispersion and a good part of the dispersion.
The Gamma dispersion
The -dispersion is due to the polarisation and
relaxation of the water molecules [3,5,7 and 14].
High water content tissue exhibits a -dispersion
similar to that of pure water when the presence of
organic matter is taken into consideration. The
frequency dependence of the complex permittivity in
the -dispersion region may be expressed as:
s
( ) = + 1
+ l
1 + ( j ) j 0
This is the well-known Cole-Cole expression in which
is the permittivity at field frequencies where
>> 1 , and s the permittivity at << 1 and
is parameter describing some broadening of the
dispersion and l is the conductivity due to ionic drift
and to the lower frequency polarisation mechanisms.
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

Theory, ratified by experimental data, predicts a and transmission line components to guide the
positive correlation between s and tissue water electromagnetic signal from one point to another. In
content. The value of the distribution parameter is practice a large number of additional components
zero for pure water but 0 for most tissues and such as isolators and directional couplers are usually
negligible for body fluids. In tissue, the mean required. Such techniques lead to the determination
relaxation time is generally longer than the of the reflection and or transmission coefficient of the
corresponding value for pure water indicating a sample/sample holder. Both parameters are a
restriction in the rotational ability of at least some of function of the dielectric properties of the sample.
the tissue water molecules due to the organic The different measurement techniques are usually
environment. distinguished according to the design of the sample
holder, which also determines the size and shape of
the sample and the degree of sample handling
4.2 Estimation of uncertainty in dielectric
required. Very generally, the techniques can be
measurements of biological tissues
classified into two groups depending on whether the
sample is inside the transmission line or outside it. In
4.2.1 Background this project, an open-ended coaxial probe is used as
sampler, all examples will refer to this technique but
In experimental studies, the determination of the
the general principles apply equally to in-guide
measurement uncertainty is probably just as
samplers, which are not discussed further in this
important as the measurement itself. Uncertainty
report.
originates from the measurement instrumentation and
procedures including theoretical assumptions and
simplifications. It is therefore helpful to get Contact Probe Technique
acquainted with the basic instrumentation and
Contact probes are open-ended transmission line
procedures. The measurement of the dielectric
sections terminated by an impedance matched lossless
properties of materials is conceptually
window. Measurements are made by placing a probe
straightforward, but there are numerous techniques
in contact with a sample and measuring its admittance
and related instrumentation that apply over specific
or reflection coefficient using a network analyser or
frequency ranges. This report will deal specifically
equivalent instrumentation. Such techniques are
with measurement in the microwave region. In
broadband, fast, non-destructive and require minimal
general, the sample is treated as a linear, time
sample handling and are therefore quite suitable for
invariant and causal component of a circuit the design
dielectric measurement. The success of the technique
of which enables the dielectric properties to be
depends on the theoretical model relating the
obtained using electromagnetic transmission theory.
measured quantity to the dielectric properties of the
The frequency range influences the theoretical and
sample, the appropriateness of the dimensions of the
experimental implementation of the measurement
probe and on the calibration procedure.
including the design and modelling of the sample and
sample holder.
The most commonly used coaxial probes have PTFE or
similar interfaces. The design of the interface is
At microwave frequencies, It is usual to incorporate
intended to optimise the particular application for
the sample (and sample holder) in a transmission line
which it is devised. They mostly require a sample that
assembly organised to measure one or more of its
extends infinitely in the half space beyond the probe.
scattering parameters which are a function of the
In practice, the sampled volume is finite and
dielectric properties. The main experimental
commensurate with the dimension of the probe and,
components are: a source to provide an incident
to a lesser extent, the sample itself and the
signal, a sample holder to contain or define the
frequency.
sample, a detection system to measure its response

5
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

Instrumentation measurements due to, for example, sample

inhomogeneity, preparation and handling and
Today, vector network analysers (VNA) are
environmental changes as well as contributions from
instruments of choice for dielectric measurement.
systematic errors from the measurement procedure.
They incorporate swept frequency sources, detectors,
circuitry and software to enable the characterisation
In this report we propose, and have adopted an
of the scattering parameters of one or two port
alternative approach in which repeat measurements of
devices, which are sample holders or probes in the
appropriate standard samples are used to assess the
case of dielectric measurements. The dielectric
performance of a system and inform on systematic and
measurement hardware consists of three elements:
random errors. In this approach, the dielectric
VNA, test cable and probe. The software has the
measurements on standard liquids are fitted to
measurement procedure including the calibration of
appropriate theoretical models and compared to those
the VNA and the calculation of the dielectric
in the literature. One important aspect of this
properties of the sample from the measure reflection
procedure is to find the appropriate standard liquid
parameters. The software used in this project
for use as a standard over an appropriate frequency
incorporates a one-port calibration procedure adapted
region. It is also important to choose the theoretical
from the well-established error model for VNAs and
model which best describes the dielectric properties
means to test for the goodness of the calibration.
of the liquid of interest.

Error assessment In this project, the dielectric measurements of

biological tissues were carried out using an open-
There are practical and theoretical considerations to
ended coaxial probe and a computer controlled
be taken into account to optimise the measurement
network analyser [17]. The network analyser measures
procedure and minimise systematic errors. For
the reflection coefficient and a computer software
instance, performing good calibration on the
translates these coefficients to the relevant dielectric
measurement system and maintaining it during the
properties. Instrumentation and methodology
measurement session can help to reduce the errors.
contribute to the total measurement uncertainty.
At the theoretical level, mathematical analysis is
Basic good practice measures were followed including:
performed to assess the limitations and the levels of
sensitivity of the measurement system. Basically, the
Ensuring that a good calibration is performed
uncertainties in complex permittivity ( ) depend on
and maintained throughout the duration of
the uncertainty in the measured reflection coefficient
the measurement session
from which it is calculated and on the model relating
the two quantities. The partial derivatives of with
The sample thickness is commensurate with
respect to the reflection coefficient in turn depends
the probe diameter to constitute a semi-
on its value and hence on probe and sample properties
infinite lossy sampling volume [18]
[15-16]. The outcome of these calculations determines
the sensitivity of a particular technique to measure
Ensure strict temperature control.
specified samples using specified probes in a specified
frequency region. These kind of studies are best used
Good practice reduces but does not eliminate
as means to optimise the measurement procedure
measurement uncertainty. Therefore, a full
with respect to, the frequency range of interest, the
assessment of the total uncertainty is needed in order
nature of the sample to be measured and the
to achieve confidence in experimental data. The
dimensions of the probe. However, they do not
following sections explain how to estimate the
provide an assessment of the total uncertainty on the
uncertainty associated with the dielectric
dielectric values of the samples of interest. This
measurements of biological tissues.
uncertainty is affected by the variation on the

6

4.2.2 Estimation of uncertainty in this
project
There are guidelines to evaluate and improve the
measurements uncertainties, which have been agreed
internationally such as the Guide to the Expression of
Uncertainty in Measurement, GUM [19] and Guidelines
for Evaluating and Expressing the Uncertainty of NIST
Measurement Results [20]. In these documents
random and systematic errors are referred to as type
A and type B respectively. The guidelines provide
statistical means to evaluate the type A errors,
however, as type B errors are system specific, their
approach to its evaluation is very general.
The technique to calculate the uncertainty budget for
dielectric measurements of tissues are taken from [20]
and [21]. However, the methods to evaluate
uncertainty are tailored to fit this particular project.
All elements of uncertainty are calculated separately
in a particular method explained below in details.
Each element is then inserted in an uncertainty table
and the combined uncertainty value is calculated.
Every single tissue will be assigned a separate
uncertainty table, which represents the total error
associated with the dielectric measurement of that
tissue.
Evaluation of random errors (Type A)
As this project deals with a large number of dielectric
measurements on tissues, the main random error
associated with the measurements is the repeatability
of the data. Because of the inhomogeneous nature of
biological material, there is usually a large variation in
the measured dielectric data. To find out what is a
true value and the errors associated with it, basic
statistical analysis can be applied. This also gives
information on the distribution and population type of
the data, and the existence of any possible
experimental outliers. When two or more different
sets of data for similar samples are compared,
statistical tests can detect any significant difference
between the two or more sets.
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies
Outcome of the statistical analysis
In general, the outcomes of these statistical analyses
on typical dielectric data of tissues are as following:
The probability distribution of dielectric
measurements made on tissues is usually
normal (Gaussian). When the measurement is
repeated under the same conditions, the most
probable value of the measured parameter is
the mean of the individual measurements.
The mean value of a data set approaches the
true value in the limit as n (number of data)
becomes infinitely large. Therefore it is
important to obtain a large number of data in
each measurement session.
The best estimate of the variation of the
mean value is given by the standard deviation
of the mean ( S / n ). This means that when
the number of measurements ( n ) increases,
the standard deviation of the mean will
decrease.
Because the variation of dielectric
measurements depends on the sensitivity of
the probe/network analyser at different
frequency regions, it is better to divide the
spectrum into 3-4 regions and evaluate the
type A error (the repeatability) separately for
each region. This will remove the possibility
of over/underestimating the variation at each
frequency region. The type A error at each
frequency range is represented by the average
of the standard deviation of the mean in that
frequency region.
Finally, one must be aware of the outliers and
if there is a good reason, removing them will
improve the results significantly and make the
different data sets more comparable.
As all the uncertainty elements in this project are
expressed, as percentage, the type A error will be also
calculated in the same format.
7
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies
Evaluation of systematic errors (Type B)
As discussed before, means other than statistical
analysis are needed to evaluate type B error. The type
B error is associated with the performance of the
measurement system. Different elements of
instrumentation or environmental factors can
contribute to type B error. In this project, the overall
performance of the measurement system
(probe/network analyser/software) is assessed by
performing measurements on standard liquids with
well-known dielectric properties. The difference at
each frequency between the measured and literature
value is the main contributing element the type B
error. However other contributions to the type B error
were identified:
Goodness of the calibration of the network
analyser
Drift which occur after a calibration has been
performed
The movement of cable/probe assembly in
the case of in-vivo measurements and possible
phase errors
For each of the above elements, a factor is inserted
into the uncertainty table to be accounted in the
calculation of total uncertainty. The details on how to
calculate these factors are explained later in this
document.
Dielectric measurements of standard liquids
The dielectric measurements on all standard liquids at
20C in the frequency range of 50 MHz to 20 GHz were
carried out using coaxial probes of 2.98 mm. After
initial calibration of the network analyser, five
measurements were carried out on each liquid. The
calibration was then renewed and another five
measurements for each liquid were carried out. The
practice was repeated for the third time and 15
measurements in total were obtained for each liquid
at 20C. The reason for changing calibration between
measurements was to allow for the errors arise from
calibrations to be accounted in these measurements.
8
In a real measurement session for tissues, the
calibration is renewed every 2-3 hours to maintain the
performance of network analyser. The mean for 15
measurements on each liquid is then calculated.
In order to examine the integrity of these
measurements the dielectric data obtained for all
standard liquids have been fitted to different models
depending on their characterisation. The results of the
best fit are presented and compared to those reported
in the literature. The analyses were carried out using
a complex curve-fitting program and the fitted
parameters and 95% confidence intervals for 0.1M
NaCl at 20C are presented in Table 1.
This study and comprehensive measurement on a set
of NaCl solutions with different concentrations showed
a deviation from the widely used Stogryn [22] data.
The deviation is more obvious at concentration above
0.5M, and is mainly due to two facts:
Stogryn has used measured data from [24]
over a limited frequency range and
interpolated for the rest of the spectrum
Although a good model at low concentrations,
the Debye expression is not suitable for high
concentration solutions and must be replaced
by a Cole-Cole model.
However, better comparison was achieved when other
literature sources [23 and 25] were used in particular
a more recent publication by Buchner et al [23].
Having measured the dielectric properties of 3
standard liquids, it was decided that the best choice
for the uncertainty analysis of dielectric properties of
tissues, is the 0.1M NaCl (having the closest
conductivity values to that of tissues). From this point
forward all the analysis and calculations for the
uncertainty budget of the dielectric properties of
tissues are based on the dielectric data of 0.1M NaCl.
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

Table 1 Dielectric parameters of 0.1M NaCl obtained by fitting the experimental results to Debye and Cole-Cole
models and comparison to the literature. The term corresponds to the 95% confidence interval

0.15NaCl Temp Model s s relax relax

used S/m S/m
( ps) (ps)

This study 20C Debye 78.8 0.3 5 - 9.2 0.3 0.96 0.005
Stogryn [22] 20C Debye 77.1 - 4.9 - 9.24 - 1.36 - 0.012 0.01

This study 20C Cole- 79.0 0.4 5 - 9.13 0.3 0.96 0.005
Cole
Buchner* [23] 20C Cole- 79.1 5.6 9.4 0.96 0.017
Cole
* Interpolated between the data from 0.09M and 0.13M concentrations.

Drift and cable tolerances

Reference liquid (and calibration) tolerance
Having measured the dielectric properties ( and
) of the standard liquid (0.1M NaCl), the tolerance
values are obtained by calculating the differences
between the measured and corresponding literature
(reference) data across the spectrum using the
following Equations:
measured reference
tolerance [%] = 100
reference
measured reference
tolerance [%] = 100
reference
If the total uncertainty for individual frequency
points of the spectrum is required, the tolerance
values are calculated at each frequency point. The
representative tolerance over a frequency range is
simply the average of the tolerance calculated at
each frequency within the band. These values are
then inserted in the relevant row of uncertainty
table (See Table 2) as reference liquid tolerance. As
mentioned before, the network analyser has been
frequently calibrated during the dielectric
measurements of the standard liquids. Therefore, the
tolerance values calculated from Equations 1 and 2
include the errors arising from the calibration of the
network analyser.
An additional factor must be added to type B errors
in order to take in account the variation in the
measured dielectric data as a result of network
analyser drift. To get this factor, the network
analyser was calibrated and several measurements on
the standard liquids were performed. The network
analyser was then left for 1-2 hours and the
measurements were then repeated. The data
measured before and after drift are then pooled and
(1)
the standard deviation of the mean is calculated and
averaged in each frequency band. The results are
(2) then inserted in the relevant row in the uncertainty
table.
When measuring dielectric properties of tissue in-
vivo, the probe/cable assembly must be moved
around the animal body in order to reach all the
tissues. This will add an additional error factor for
the movement of the cable, which must be added to
the total uncertainty. To get this factor, the network
analyser was calibrated as usual and several
measurements were carried out on standard liquids
in three different cable angles on a horizontal plane:
60, 90 and 120 degree. The measured data are then
pooled and the standard deviation of the mean is
calculated and averaged in each frequency band. The
results are then inserted in the relevant row in the
uncertainty table.

9
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

The uncertainty tables using a factor of k = 2 . All the numbers in the

Table 2 shows an example of uncertainty tables for
the measured permittivity of 0.1M NaCl in the
frequency region of >300-10 GHz respectively.
Similar table can be drawn for the conductivity
values. In this project similar tables are prepared for
permittivity ( ) and conductivity ( ) of every
single tissue measured at all frequency regions.
Each element of error is calculated as mentioned in
above sections and inserted in the relevant row. Each
type of error is assigned an appropriate probability
distribution and the standard uncertainty is
calculated individually for each type of error from
Equation 3.2:
a
ui = ( ) ci (3)
b
where a and b are the uncertainty component and
the divisor respectively while c i is the sensitivity
coefficient. Since the input quantities have the same
nature as the output quantities, the sensitivity
coefficient is set to 1. In the end the total combined
uncertainty is calculated from Equation 3.3:
u c = ci u i 2 (4)
Finally, for a more conservative figure, one can
calculate the expanded total combined uncertainty
uncertainty table are in the format of percentage.
Similar tables can be drawn for the measured
permittivity and conductivity of the 0.1M NaCl for
the other frequency regions. Table 3 summarises the
calculated total combined uncertainty for measured
permittivity and conductivity of 0.1M NaCl at all the
frequency divisions. From Table 3, one can conclude
that the total uncertainty (inclusive of both random
and systematic errors) associated with the dielectric
measurements of a standard liquid such as 0.1M NaCl
is between 0.2-2% depending on the frequency
region. These values are only applicable for the
specific technique used in this project. Table 4,
summarises the total combined uncertainty for both
measured permittivity and conductivity of selected
tissues at 3 frequency divisions. Five tissues are
selected from different types of soft and hard
tissues, in order to show the differences in the total
combined uncertainty due to the type of the tissues.
Those tissues, which are more homogeneous and easy
to handle and measure (such as liver), usually have
smaller variation in their dielectric data. On the
other hand, hard tissues such as bone or complex
tissues such as white matter, usually have larger
variation in their dielectric data, leading to larger
values of total combined uncertainty.

Table2 Example uncertainty table for permittivity ( ) of 0.1M NaCl at >300 MHz-10 GHz
Uncertainty Probability Divisor Sensitivity Standard uncertainty
component distribution coefficient (%)
(%)
Type A 0.18 N 1 1 0.18
(Repeatability)
Type B 0.26 R 3 1 0.15
(Reference liquid/
Calibration)
Network analyzer-drift 0.07 R 3 1 0.04

cable variations 0.0 U 2 1 0.0

Combined standard 0.24

uncertainty
Expanded (k=2) 0.48

10
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

Table 3 Summary of the total expanded uncertainty of the frequency spectrum due to some reduction in
for the measured and of 0.1M NaCl the sensitivity of the probe.
Frequency range Permittivity Conductivity
(%) (%) As the contribution of the systematic errors are
50-300 MHz 0.74 0.55 known, fixed, and much smaller than the random
>300 MHz-10 GHz 0.24 0.96 errors, it is reasonable to use the standard deviation
>10-20 GHz 0.92 2.14 of the mean as the best representative of the total
errors in the measured dielectric data of tissues. This
Table 4, Summary of the total combined uncertainty can only be acceptable if the methodology of the
for both measured permittivity and conductivity of
selected tissues at 3 frequency divisions.
measurement is very clear and related to the
application (which is the case in here; see the

reference liquid measurements results). For a
Frequency Tissues (%) (%)
conservative estimation of the errors, twice othe
range
standard deviation of the mean is used as the main
figure to represent the errors associated with the
Grey Matter 1.8 4.5
Cornea 0.8 1.5
measurements. However, it is always possible to add
50-300 MHz Long Bone 4.2 8.4 the contribution of the systematic error to calculate
White Matter 5.7 7.8 the total combined uncertainty (as in the last
Liver 1.5 2.8 section). In our opinion, this contribution is negligible
Cartilage 1.8 7.3 especially for tissues with larger variation in their
Grey Matter 2.1 3.1 dielectric data.
Cornea 0.9 1.3
>300 MHz-10 GHz Long Bone 4.4 5.1
White Matter 4.5 6.3 4.3 Dielectric Measurements Procedures
Liver 1.2 1.9
Cartilage 2.0 4.5 In this section, the methodologies used in the
Grey Matter 3.0 5.9 dielectric measurements of different porcine tissues
Cornea 1.8 2.8 are briefly explained. In general, dielectric
>10-20 GHz Long Bone 5.6 5.6 measurements were carried out using open-ended
White Matter 4.5 8.1
coaxial probes together with a computer controlled
Liver 1.8 3.4
Cartilage 3.1 4.5

Conclusion network analyser (HP 8720S). This procedure [17] is

known to be suitable for dielectric measurements of
The uncertainty tables presented in the last section
biological tissues and requires minimum handling of
show that the contribution of the random errors to
the samples. The accuracy of this technique has been
the total combined uncertainty of the measured
extensively examined and reported in [17] as well as
dielectric data is much larger than the systematic
section 4.2 of this report. Small probes of 2.2 mm
error. This is mainly due to the fact that biological
(inner radius 0.256 mm and outer radius0.838 mm)
tissues are inhomogeneous by nature and large
and 3.5 mm (inner radius 0.456 mm and outer radius
variations are observed in the measurements of their
1.49 mm) have been used in these experiments. The
dielectric data. These variations are reduced when
frequency range of measurements was 50 MHz-20
large numbers of independent measurements are
GHz.
carried out, however, they still contribute to the
majority of the total combined uncertainty. In this
project, the contribution of the systematic error to 4.3.1 Measurements in-vivo
the total combined uncertainty of measured
Dielectric measurements have been carried out on 54
dielectric data is between 0.2-2% depending on the
different anatomical sites on live pigs under
frequency. Systematic errors are larger at both ends

11
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies
anaesthetic. In total, data were gathered from
measurements on 21 animals and at least 6
measurements were carried out for each tissue. The
animals under study were pubescent pigs with an
average weight of 53.9 4.6 kg (mean stdev). The
tissues measured were as follows: adrenal gland,
aorta, aqueous humour, arachnoid, bile, bladder,
blood, bone marrow, cartilage, caecum, cornea,
cerebrospinal fluid, diaphragm, dura, dura matter,
fat, gall bladder, gonads (ovaries), gonads (testicles),
grey matter, heart, intervertebral disc,
intervertebral disc centre, kidney, large intestine,
liver, long bone, lung, mesenteric lymph node,
muscle, oesophagus, pancreas, periosteum, pia
matter, rib bone, salivary gland, skin, skull, small
intestine, spinal cord, spleen, stomach, tendon,
thymus gland, thyroid gland, tongue, urine, uterine
horn, vena cava, vitreous humour and white matter.
The body fluids were gathered, removed and
measured immediately. Not all the tissues could be
accessed at once, therefore, different surgical
incisions were made. However, some of the tissues
were accessed at all surgical incisions, providing
larger number of measurements on these common
tissues. When carrying out measurement in-vivo or
in-situ one has no control over the sample thickness,
the thickness of tissue is what it is in the body.
Tissues such as periosteum or the meninges are too
thin to contain the fringing field of the probe,
inevitably the measurement is affected by the
underlying tissue.
In the following sections, the practical considerations
made during the dielectric measurements in-vivo on
the ~50 kg animals are explained.
Temperature control
Strict temperature regulations were made during the
experiments. The operating theatre was climate controlled
for temperature and humidity. The core temperature of each
pig was measured either rectal or oesophageal with a
thermometer connected to a Propaq medical data-recording
instrument. It varied between animals and the mean value
was about 38.14C (+/-0.56). The temperature of
each tissue was recorded prior to the measurements,
which was about 36.76C (+/-0.88). This discrepancy
is because the operators allowed cooling to get as
12
close to 37C as possible but also some tissues cool
more rapidly than others. Efforts were made to perform
dielectric measurements at 37C to be consistent with
human data. Therefore if needed, cooling or warming with
bags of sealed heated saline for abdominal measurements
were allowed.
Surgical processes
The animals were initially sedated with 40 mg
Midazolan hydrochloride ['Hypnovel'] (5 mg per 1 ml
solution) delivered via intra-muscular injection and
then anaesthetised using gaseous anaesthesia. All
procedures were carried out in accordance with
national guidelines. Halothane anaesthetic was used
to maintain anaesthesia and if the animal showed
signs of distress Isofuorane would be used. A
terminal overdose of pentobarbital (a barbiturate)
was used to sacrifice the animal after the
proceduress were finished.
Since all the tissues could not be accessed in one
surgical incision, three types of incisions were used:
dorsal, lateral and sternal. Diathermy was used to
control bleeding from small blood vessels at the
incision site except for brain tissue. In all cases the
animals were mechanically ventilated.
Dorsal position
Dorsal tissues were accessed by midline laparotomy
from xyphoid sternum to pelvis (pubic). Trachea and
throat tissues were accessed by a 10 cm incision
midline from larynx towards the sternum. Neck
musculature overlying the trachea was separated to
expose trachea, thyroid gland and oesophagus
located on the left-hand side of the trachea.
Diaphragm, which consists of a sheet of muscle,
covered with fascia and tendon was measured on the
fascia.
Lateral position
In this incision, the tissues were exposed with lateral
reflection of the soft tissues. Tendon, periosteum,
long bone, marrow were accessed via a medial
aspect incision of the skin from the elbow joint to
the carpus. The pigs were always placed in right

lateral recumbence. Skin over the 5th to 7th ribs was
incised then overlying musculature was reflected
away from the rib surface. This then enabled
measurement of rib periosteum. Then intercostal
muscle was incised between the 5th and 7th ribs and
the pleura were cut. 2-3 ribs were removed to allow
access to the thoracic tissues. Pericardium was
incised to allow measurements of the heart
chambers. Bone marrow was accessed from the
forelimb radius at distances corresponding to 30% and
50% of the length of the bone from the distal
epiphysis (ball joint at the foot end of the bone). An
air-powered drill was then used to drill through the
outer cortical (compact) bone to allow the probe to
measure the marrow inside.
Measurements on inflated lung were performed with
ventilator normally ventilated and inspiration was
held for the period of the measurement.
Sternal position
To reach the tissues through the sternal position,
incisions were made along the midline of the back
over the lumbar vertebra. Layers of back were
exposed first then lumber musculature exposed.
Transverse cut was made to facilitate measurements
on transverse surface. Then, back musculature was
dissected away from spine processes of lumbar
vertebra and also part of the transverse process of
the lumber vertebra.
By use of an air saw the process and outermost
portion of the bone canal of 3 or more vertebra were
removed. Finally, the ligamentum flavum was cut
through and the fat was removed to expose the
spinal cord underneath.
Dielectric measurements were carried out on
different areas of the skull: mandible, zygomatic
arch and the top of the skull. Initial drill holes were
made is the frontal bone exposed by surgical access.
For mandible measurements, the skin over the ramus
of the mandible was incised and underlying muscle
was cut and reflected to allow exposure of bone. For
zygomatic arch, horizontal incision over the centre of
the zygomatic arch was made and periosteum was
cut and reflected. Finally, for top of the skull, an
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies
incision was made from nuchal crest a few cm below
the level of the eye and skin was reflected to expose
periosteum.
Periostium was measured on all three bones: long
bone, rib bone and skull. However due to the small
thickness of periostium (1-2mm) its dielectric
measurements could reflect the properties of
underlying tissues. From visual appearance the
periosteum on the skull was thicker than that of the
long bone.
After measuring the skull, an air saw was used to
expand the hole and facilitate removal of a section
of bone exposing brain covered by meninges. In this
procedure the surgical access process did not cross
the midline of the skull to prevent damage (and
subsequent bleeding) of the blood vessels underneath
this area. After removing the skull bone, the probe
was placed on top of the dura matter and a set of 6
measurements were performed on different sites.
Despite the fact that the surface of the dura matter
was dried with cotton swabs, but the underlying CSF
could affect the measurements. The dura matter was
then removed to expose the arachnoid and another
set of measurements carried out. Removing the
arachnoid exposed the pia matter for another set of
measurements. At this stage, a cut is made into the
surface of the brain to expose the grey matter and
dielectric measurements were performed. Finally, a
deep incision into the brain provided means for
measurements on the white matter. When measuring
spinal cord, two sets of measurements were carried
out, one with the dura layer on top of the spinal cord
and one with dura layer removed.
This process of measuring a layer on top of the others
assured enough tissue depth for each measurement
and reducing the dehydration of the tissues. It may
however be true that due to small thickness of brain
meninges, most of the measurements are affected by
the dielectric properties of underlying grey matter.
Also, in the case of the measurements on dura, the
underlying CSF and spinal cord probably affected the
measurements.
13
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

Physiological and physical data gathered from several pigs in order to have sufficient
volume. In the case of blood, heparin was
For each pig, physiological data such as core
occasionally used to avoid clotting, but no
temperature, heart rate, arterial pressure,
differences were observed in the dielectric
respiration rate, ETCO2 volume and SVO2 were
properties of blood with and without heparin.
recorded during the procedure. All these parameters
varied between the pigs and during the course of the
Despite all practical efforts to perform the
procedure, which usually took about 4-6 hours. The
measurements as correctly as possible, there were
administration of anaesthetics affects a number of
occasions, where measurements had to be discarded
physiological parameters such as heart rate and blood
due to contamination with blood and other fluids or
pressure. The heart rate ranged from 108-153 bpm,
lack of sufficient sample volume. These
while the mean arterial pressure ranged from 59-81
measurements were removed from the data set
mm Hg. The heart rate of the animal would increase
according to the notes taken by the operator during
during the course of the procedure, while the
the measurements.
arterial pressure would stay either constant or
decreased by the end of the session.
4.3.2 Measurements in-vitro and as a
function of age
Practical considerations
Dielectric measurements were carried out on excised
The main difficulty encountered was the
tissues as part of the in-vitro studies. Measurements
contamination of tissue with blood and body fluids.
were carried out in-vitro for two reasons; first to
Occasionally, suction was used to remove excessive
compare the measurements on ~50 kg pigs under in-
blood.
vivo and in-vitro conditions and secondly on piglets
and mature sows for the purpose of the age study.
It sometimes happened that lung condition started to
deteriorate (atelectasis - collapse of the lung) during
the measurement. In these instances, the Choice of animal size
measurements were stopped to allow respiration of
Measurements were also carried out on excised
the lung for several minutes before restarting
tissues from animals in the 10, 50 and 250 kg range
measurements. When measuring inflated lung a
corresponding to young and mature animals. The ~50
Manly Blease MP3 ventilator was set to manual and
kg animals were approximately 90-105 days old. The
the ventilator bag was squeezed (bagging the
10 kg range (10.61.3 kg) were young pigs of only
animal) until the measurement was complete.
about 37 days old. On the other hand, the ~250 kg
Alternatively, rather than bagging, the anaesthetic
(253.130.7 kg) category pigs were considered
machine was locked open and this kept the lung
mature sows with an average age of 626 days. This
inflated
choice of animal age would expose any possible
variation in the dielectric properties. Due to the
During some of the measurements on the heart,
heavy weight of the mature sows, it was not
arrhythmia was induced which resulted in
practically possible to perform dielectric
measurements being stopped until normal sinus
measurements under in-vivo conditions. Therefore, in
rhythm could be established. Tissues such as bone
order to have a realistic comparison, all
and thymus gland were harder to measured due to
measurements for age study were carried out in-
difficulty in obtaining good contact with probe and
vitro.
the inhomogeneity of the tissues.

In total 6 animals were used for the ~50 kg and the

In the case of some of the body fluids such as
~250 kg age categories. In the case of the ~10 kg
vitreous and aqueous humour and CSF, the volume of
pigs, the totals of 10 animals were used. The tissues
the liquid from one animal was not sufficient for
that have been measured in-vitro for all age
dielectric measurements, therefore, samples were
14
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

categories were: bone marrow, cornea, dura, fat,
grey matter, intervertebral disc, intervertebral disc
centre, long bone, mammary fat, periosteum, pia
matter, skin, skull, spinal cord, tongue and white
matter. There was no sufficient the mammary fat on
the ~10 kg pigs. Also, mammary glands were only
measured on the ~250 kg animals.
Tissues were kept in containers and placed in a Grant
W38 water bath with a Haake 001-2873 stirrer/heater
unit with the temperature set to 37C. Similar room
temperature regulations were applied as in-vivo
measurements.

130
This study (in-vivo)
110 Gabriel et al 1996, in-vitro
Bao et al 1997 (rat in-vitro )
90 Schmid et al 2003 (human in-vitro)
Permittivity

Schmid et al 2003 (porcine in-vivo)

70

50

30

10
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)
Figure 1a

100
This study (in-vivo)
Gabriel et al 1996, in-vitro
Bao et al 1997 (rat in-vitro )
Conductivity(S/m)

10 Schmid et al 2003 (human in-vitro)

Schmid et al 2003 (porcine in-vivo)

0.1
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)
Figure 1b

Figure 1. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of grey matter (pooled with arachnoid and pia matter)
in-vivo and those of literature data

15
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

In some cases of in-vitro measurements of bone container placed in water bath with temperature set
marrow, a section of the bone was cut with a saw to to 37C.
expose the ends of the sections corresponding to the
30% and 50% distance points. In either case in-vitro
measurements were made with the bone in a

90
80 This study (in-vivo)
This study (in-vitro)
70 Gabriel et al , 1996 , in-vitro
Bao et al, 1997 (Rat in-vitro )
Permittivity

60
50
40
30
20
10
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)
Figure 2a

100
This study (in-vivo)
This study (in-vitro)
Gabriel et al , 1996 , in-vitro
Conductivity (S/m)

10 Bao et al, 1997 (Rat in-vitro )

0.1
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 2b
Figure 2. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of white matter in-vivo, in-vitro and those of literature
data

16
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

plots for white matter are presented in Figures 2a

4.4 Results
and 2b. The grey matter was measured on its own
(inside the capsule) as well as through the arachnoid
4.4.1 Data from measurement on ~50 kg and pia matter. The three sets of results are very
pigs close across the whole spectrum to the extent that
one may pool the result and treat it as one tissue.
This section includes the results of in-vivo
However white matter and spinal cord dielectric data
measurements on the ~50 kg pigs in the format of
are closer to each other and lower than grey matter
plots of measured permittivity and conductivity of
values, which is as expected.
selected tissues. All the measurements are in-vivo
unless stated otherwise. For selected tissues, in-vitro
Measurements were also carried out with the probe
measurements have been carried out for comparison.
contacting the dura and dura matter. Dura matter is
Where available, literature data are added to the
the membrane enclosing the brain, while dura is the
plots for comparison. For clarity the error bars are
sheath around the spinal cord.
not included in most of the plots, however, where
necessary for the purpose of comparisons, error bars
Abdominal tissues
are added in the format of twice the standard
deviation of the mean (see section 4.2 for detailed
The dielectric properties of most of the abdominal
error analysis).
tissues are quite close to each other. The gall
bladder has the highest dielectric values and the
Head tissues pancreas has the lowest. Figures 3a and 3b show the
measured permittivity and conductivity of liver in-
Figures 1a and 1b show the measured permittivity
vivo together with some recent literature values.
and conductivity of porcine grey matter (pooled with
Also Figures 4a and 4b show the changes in the
that of arachnoid and pia matter) in-vivo, and those
dielectric properties of lung tissue when inflated and
of available recent literature [7-9, 26-28]. Similar
deflated.

17
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

120
This study (in-vivo)
100 Gabriel et al, 1996
Stauffer et al , 2003 (porcine in-vivo)
80 Peyman et al, 2002 (rat in-vitro)
Permittivity

60

40

20

0
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)
Figure 3a

100
This study (in-vivo)
Gabriel et al, 1996
Stauffer et al , 2003 (porcine in-vivo)
Conductivity (S/m)

10 Peyman et al, 2002 (rat in-vitro)

0.1
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 3b
Figure 3. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of liver and some recent literature data.

18
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

100 This study (inflated)

This study (deflated)
Gabriel et al, 1996 (inflated)
80 Gabriel et al, 1996 (deflated)
Permittivity

60

40

20

0
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 4a

100
This study (inflated)
This study (deflated)
Gabriel et al, 1996 (inflated)
Conductivity (S/m)

10 Gabriel et al, 1996 (deflated)

0.1
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 4b
Figure 4. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of lung inflated and deflated with corresponding
literature data

Bone and marrow tissues

Figures 5 and 6 show the measured dielectric
properties of long bone and bone marrow as
examples of skeletal tissues measured in this project.
The measured dielectric properties of long bone are
higher than the previously reported literature. Also,
the measurements carried out in-vivo tend to be
higher than that of in-vitro in the case of long bone
(5a and 5b). Data were also acquired from the
marrow in the forelimb radius at distances
corresponding to 30% and 50% of the length of the
bone from the distal epiphysis which are presented in
Figures 6a and 6b.

19
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

50
45 This study (in-vivo)
40 This study (in-vitro)
Gabriel et al, 1996 (cortical)
35
Permittivity

30
25
20
15
10
5
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 5a

10
This study (in-vivo)
This study (in-vitro)
Conductivity (S/m)

1 Gabriel et al, 1996 (cortical)

0.1

0.01
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 5b
Figure 5. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of long bone measured in-vivo and in-vitro and that of
literature

20
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

Bone marrow 50% Bone marrow 30%

80
70
60
Permittivity

50
40
30
20
10
0
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 6a

Bone marrow 50% Bone marrow 30%

100
Conductivity (S/m)

10

0.1
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 6b
Figure 6. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of bone marrow 30% and 50% in-vivo

21
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

the values fall between the two groups as it can be

Other tissues seen from figures 7a and 7b.

There was a relatively large spread in the measured

The measured dielectric properties of skin under in-
dielectric data of fat. Generally, the measured data
vivo and in-vitro conditions are presented in Figures
can be grouped into two; one with higher values and
8a and 8b together with the relevant literature data.
the other with lower values. Obviously, when pooled

20
This study (pooled)
18 This study (infiltrated)
This study (not-infiltrated))
16 Gabriel et al, 1996 (infiltrated)
14 Gabriel et al (not-infiltrated)
Permittivity

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1.E+08 1.E+09 Frequency (Hz) 1.E+10 1.E+11

Figure 7a

10
This study (pooled)
This study (infiltrated)
This study (not-infiltrated))
Gabriel et al, 1996 (infiltrated)
Conductivity (S/m)

1 Gabriel et al (not-infiltrated)

0.1

0.01
1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)
Figure 7b
Figure 7. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of fat divided into three groups and the corresponding
literature data

22
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

120
This study(in-vivo)
This study(in-vitro)
100 Gabriel et al, 1996 (wet skin)
Gabriel et al, 1996 (dry skin)
80 Petaja et al, 2003 (human abdomen)
Peyman et al, 2002 (rat in-vitro)
Permittivity

60

40

20

0
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 8a

100
This study(in-vivo)
This study(in-vitro)
Gabriel et al, 1996 (wet skin)
Conductivity (S/m)

Gabriel et al, 1996 (dry skin)

10 Peyman et al, 2002 (rat in-vitro)

0.1
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 8b
Figure 8. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of skin in-vivo and in-vitro and literature data

vitreous humour together with Gabriel et al 1996

Body fluids data for vitreous humour. Also Figures 10a and 10b
show the measured dielectric properties of
The body fluids were usually taken out of the body
cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the corresponding
and measured, therefore, the obtained data are
literature.
considered as in-vitro. Figures 9a and 9b show the
measured dielectric properties of aqueous and

23
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

110
This study (vitreous humour)
100
Gabriel et al, 1996 ( vitreous humour)
90 This study (aqeous humour)
80
Permittivity

70
60
50
40
30
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 9a

100
This study (vitreous humour)
Gabriel et al, 1996 ( vitreous humour)
This study (aqeous humour)
Conductivity (S/m)

10

0.1
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 9b
Figure 9. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of aqueous and vitreous humour and the literature for
vitreous humour

24
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

This study Gabriel et al, 1996

120
110
100
90
Permittivity

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)
Figure 10a

This study Gabriel et al, 1996

100
Conductivity (S/m)

10

1
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 10b
Figure 10. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of CSF and the corresponding literature

25
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

4.4.2 Data from ~10, ~50 and ~250 kg pigs

In this section, the results of dielectric
measurements on tissues as a function of animal size
are presented. The dielectric data were obtained
from pigs of ~10 kg, ~50 kg and ~250 kg under the in-
vitro condition.
The measured dielectric properties from all three
age groups are plotted against each other for
comparison. In order to show the significance of the
possible difference between the dielectric data from
different age groups, error bars are added to the
plots of this section.

~250kg ~50kg ~10kg

140

120
Permittivity

100

80

60

40

20
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 11a

~250kg ~50kg ~10kg

100
Conductivity(S/m)

10

0.1
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)
Figure 11b
Figure11. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of grey matter for the ~10, ~50 and ~250 kg pigs

26
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

~250kg ~50kg ~10kg

100
90
80
70
Permittivity

60
50
40
30
20
10
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency(Hz)
Figure 12a

~250kg ~50kg ~10kg

10
Conductivity (S/m)

1
Y

0.1
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency(Hz)

Figure 12b
Figure 12. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of white matter for the ~10, ~50 and ~250 kg pigs

27
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

Head tissues
In the case of white matter, a decrease in both
No significant differences are observed in the
permittivity and conductivity values is evident (See
dielectric properties of grey matter as a function of
Figures 12a and 12b). A similar trend was observed
age. Similar results were obtained when
for data on spinal cord while no significant variation
measurements were carried out on the pia matter.
was observed in the measured dielectric data of
Since pia matter is a thin membrane, the
tongue and cornea.
measurements made probably reflect the underlying
tissue (grey matter) and therefore a similar trend is
to be expected.

~250kg ~50 ~10kg

55
50
45
40
Permittivity

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)
Figure 13a

~250kg ~50 ~10kg

10
Conductivity (S/m)

0.1

0.01
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 13b
Figure 5.13. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of long bone for the ~10, ~50 and ~250 kg pigs

28
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

Bone and marrow tissues which probably reflects the properties of the underlying
tissue (i.e. bone). Smaller variations were observed for
The dielectric properties of long bone and skull are
intervertebral disc and its centre, more significant were
shown in Figures 13 and 14 as the weight of the animal
the differences in bone marrow 30% (Figures 15a and
increases (See Figures 13-14). Similar results were
15b) and bone marrow 50%
obtained for measurements on the periosteum,

~250kg ~50kg ~10kg

80
70
60
Permittivity

50
40
30
20
10
0
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 14a

~250kg ~50kg ~10kg

10
Conductivity(S/m)

0.1
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency(Hz)

Figure 14b
Figure 14. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of skull for the ~10, ~50 and ~250 kg pigs

29
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

~250kg ~50kg ~10kg

90
80
70
60
Permittivity

50
40
30
20
10
0
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 15a

~250kg ~50kg ~10kg

100

10
Conductivity(S/m)

0.1

0.01
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 15b
Figure 5.15. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of bone marrow 30% for the ~10, ~50 and ~250 kg
pigs

30
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

dielectric properties of skin and fat of the ~10 kg and

Other tissues ~50 kg pigs are very close to each other and decline
significantly as the animal grows to ~250 kg (Figures
Most of the variation in the dielectric properties of
16 and 17)
skin and fat belong to the stage in which the animal
grows from ~50 to ~250 kg. In other words, the

~250kg ~50kg ~10kg

120

85
Permittivity

50

15
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure16a

~250kg ~50kg ~10kg

100
Conductivity(S/m)

10

0.1
1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 16b
Figure 16. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of skin for the ~10, ~50 and ~250 kg pigs

31
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

~250kg ~50kg ~10kg

20
18
16
14
Permittivity

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 17a

~250kg ~50kg ~10kg

10
Conductivity(S/m)

0.1

0.01
1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 17b
Figure 17. The measured a: permittivity and b: conductivity of fat for the ~10, ~50 and ~250 kg pigs

32

4.4.3 Dielectric properties of human skin
in-vivo A pilot study
Background
Skin is an important interface that influences the
coupling of external fields into the body. It is also a
complex laminar structure. The inner layer of the
skin, the dermis, has blood vessels, sweat glands and
other structures and is expected to exhibit the
dielectric behaviour of a high water content tissue.
This is unlike the stratum corneum which consists of
layers of flattened dead cells with almost no aqueous
extra cellular fluid such that the polarisation
mechanisms based on ionic displacement are
significantly reduced. Beyond the skin there is
usually a fat layer, this is a low water content tissue
with significantly different dielectric properties. The
laminar nature of the skin, and other issues such as
skin-electrode contact have to be considered in
relation to the measurement of the dielectric
properties of intact skin, in-vivo. How to deal with
these questions depends on the purpose of the
measurement
The purpose of this report is to underpin the basis of
the existing dielectric data (Gabriel et al 1996) by
comparison with those obtained for the skin of five
people ranging in age from 29 to 74 years. This is a
small sample but serves the purpose and points to
the need to extend the study to include more data.
Procedure
Measurement were made in three skin regions, the
palm of the hand, the inner forearm and the side of
Table 5. Information about the volunteers.
Volunteers Gender Age Skin Type
V1 F 29 Dry/Normal
V2 M 38 Greasy
V3 F 50 Normal
V4 F 31 Normal
V5 F 74 Dry
V6 M 29 Normal
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies
the face. It is difficult to ensure good contact
between the probe and dry skin. To ensure good
contact the skin was moistened with deionised water
and the same areas re-measured and referred to as
wet skin. Moistening the skin has the additional
effect of hydrating the stratum corneum and thus
lessening the inhomogeneity of the skin structure.
Results and observations
Five volunteers, of which 2 males, took part in this
study (Table 5), All but one described their skin as
dry to normal, one had oily skin and very sweaty
palm, a condition known as hyper hydrosis. Data
obtained from each of them are referred to as V1 to
V6. V3 corresponds to previously published data. V2
has a skin condition known as hyperhydrosis, V5 has
very dry skin.
Data for the dielectric properties of five individuals
are tabulated together with previously published
data also included are the overall averages for all 6
people (Table 6).
In terms of percentage, the standard deviation of the
average of the pooled data ranges from 5-18% for
permittivity and from 10-24% for conductivity. The
tabulated data show that this is mostly due to one
odd result. Elimination of the exceptional data set
reduces the deviation from average, as would,
statistically, a much larger sample of people.
Moistening the skin hydrates the upper layer, this
reduces significantly the variability in data. The issue
of underlying fat has been highlighted but not
considered in this report. This and better statistics
will be the subject of future work.
Comments
has a very sweaty palms(hyper hydrosis)
Has very dry face
33
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

Table 6. Dielectric properties of skin

Permittivity of dry palm
V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 Between all
volunteers
Frequency Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Average Stdev
(Hz)

7.97E+08 28.4 3.8 18.1 8.2 30.5 NA 28.7 1.1 31.6 0.3 24.3 1.9 26.9 5.0
8.81E+08 27.8 3.5 17.9 8.1 30.1 NA 27.8 1.0 31.0 0.4 23.8 1.8 26.4 4.8
1.08E+09 26.9 3.1 17.8 8.1 29.1 NA 28.0 1.0 30.1 0.5 23.1 1.8 25.8 4.6
1.78E+09 25.3 3.2 16.4 7.4 27.0 NA 25.5 0.9 27.9 0.6 21.6 1.7 24.0 4.3
Conductivity of dry palm
V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 Between all
volunteers
Frequency Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Average Stdev
(Hz)

7.97E+08 0.48 0.06 0.29 0.12 0.57 NA 0.49 0.04 0.61 0.04 0.39 0.03 0.47 0.12
8.81E+08 0.51 0.07 0.30 0.12 0.61 NA 0.48 0.04 0.61 0.04 0.40 0.04 0.49 0.12
1.08E+09 0.57 0.06 0.34 0.14 0.70 NA 0.58 0.05 0.71 0.04 0.48 0.04 0.56 0.14
1.78E+09 0.86 0.12 0.54 0.22 0.98 NA 0.82 0.05 1.02 0.04 0.71 0.06 0.82 0.18
Permittivity of wet palm

V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 Between all
volunteers
Frequency Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Average Stdev
(Hz)

7.97E+08 41.1 3.4 44.1 2.0 43.1 NA 50.2 4.1 41.7 1.9 39.9 7.3 43.3 3.7
8.81E+08 40.4 3.4 42.8 2.0 42.5 NA 48.6 4.1 41.0 1.9 39.1 7.4 42.4 3.3
1.08E+09 39.4 3.3 43.2 2.0 41.3 NA 49.3 4.2 39.9 1.9 38.1 7.5 41.9 4.0
1.78E+09 37.2 3.2 39.0 2.1 38.4 NA 46.0 4.4 37.2 2.0 36.1 7.7 39.0 3.6
Conductivity of wet palm

V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 Between all
volunteers
Frequency Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Average Stdev
(Hz)

7.97E+08 0.72 0.04 0.81 0.04 0.91 NA 0.78 0.03 0.80 0.07 0.62 0.04 0.77 0.10
8.81E+08 0.74 0.05 0.84 0.04 0.95 NA 0.75 0.03 0.80 0.07 0.62 0.04 0.78 0.11
1.08E+09 0.86 0.05 0.92 0.05 1.08 NA 0.93 0.04 0.94 0.07 0.75 0.04 0.91 0.11
1.78E+09 1.27 0.08 1.41 0.06 1.51 NA 1.33 0.04 1.35 0.09 1.13 0.07 1.33 0.13

34
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

Table 6: Continued
Permittivity dry forearm
V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 Between all
volunteers
Frequency Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Average Stdev
(Hz)

7.97E+08 36.2 2.7 36.2 0.7 41.0 NA 41.8 1.8 41.1 2.1 NA NA 39.3 2.8
8.81E+08 35.7 2.6 35.7 0.7 40.7 NA 40.7 1.7 40.7 2.1 NA NA 38.7 2.7
1.08E+09 34.8 2.6 36.2 0.8 40.0 NA 41.8 1.7 40.1 2.1 NA NA 38.6 2.9
1.78E+09 34.4 2.5 34.5 0.7 38.4 NA 40.0 1.7 38.7 2.0 NA NA 37.2 2.6
Conductivity of dry forearm
V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 Between all
volunteers
Frequency Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Average Stdev
(Hz)

7.97E+08 0.45 0.05 0.47 0.03 0.62 NA 0.63 0.04 0.75 0.06 NA NA 0.59 0.12
8.81E+08 0.48 0.06 0.49 0.02 0.65 NA 0.59 0.04 0.75 0.06 NA NA 0.59 0.11
1.08E+09 0.51 0.06 0.51 0.03 0.72 NA 0.70 0.05 0.85 0.06 NA NA 0.66 0.15
1.78E+09 0.78 0.09 0.77 0.03 0.99 NA 0.94 0.07 1.14 0.08 NA NA 0.93 0.16
Permittivity of dry face
V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 Between all
volunteers
Frequency Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Average Stdev
(Hz)

7.97E+08 39.7 1.6 39.9 0.8 NA NA NA NA 45.7 1.1 41.2 2.1 41.6 2.8
8.81E+08 39.4 1.6 39.2 0.8 NA NA NA NA 45.3 1.1 40.7 2.0 41.1 2.8
1.08E+09 39.0 1.6 40.1 0.9 NA NA NA NA 44.4 1.2 40.2 2.1 40.9 2.4
1.78E+09 38.2 1.5 38.3 0.8 NA NA NA NA 43.2 1.2 39.5 1.9 39.8 2.4
Conductivity of dry face
V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 Between all
volunteers
Frequency Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Avg Stdev Average Stdev
(Hz)

7.97E+08 0.57 0.04 0.57 0.02 NA NA NA NA 0.85 0.04 0.61 0.05 0.65 0.14
8.81E+08 0.57 0.04 0.58 0.02 NA NA NA NA 0.84 0.03 0.59 0.06 0.64 0.13
1.08E+09 0.65 0.04 0.59 0.02 NA NA NA NA 0.96 0.03 0.68 0.06 0.72 0.16
1.78E+09 0.91 0.05 0.86 0.03 NA NA NA NA 1.27 0.04 0.92 0.08 0.99 0.19

35
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

Table 7: Effect of removing one set of data on the average and standard deviation.

Permittivity of Dry Palm

All Volunteers Removing V2
Frequency Average Stdev %Stdev Average Stdev %Stdev

7.97E+08 26.95 4.99 18.52 28.71 2.81 9.78

8.81E+08 26.41 4.85 18.35 28.11 2.78 9.88
1.08E+09 25.85 4.60 17.81 27.45 2.70 9.85
1.78E+09 23.97 4.28 17.88 25.48 2.40 9.44
Conductivity of Dry Palm
All Volunteers Removing V2

Frequency Average Stdev %Stdev Average Stdev %Stdev

7.97E+08 0.47 0.12 24.86 0.51 0.08 16.48

8.81E+08 0.49 0.12 24.63 0.52 0.09 17.22
1.08E+09 0.56 0.14 24.67 0.61 0.10 15.85
1.78E+09 0.82 0.18 21.55 0.88 0.12 14.04

Permittivity of dry face

All Volunteers Removing V5
Frequency Average Stdev %Stdev Average Stdev %Stdev

7.97E+08 41.64 2.78 6.68 40.29 0.81 2.01

8.81E+08 41.15 2.82 6.86 39.78 0.84 2.11
1.08E+09 40.94 2.41 5.88 39.77 0.71 1.77
1.78E+09 39.81 2.37 5.95 38.66 0.76 1.97
Conductivity of dry face
All Volunteers Removing V5

Frequency Average Stdev %Stdev Average Stdev %Stdev

7.97E+08 0.65 0.14 21.00 0.58 0.02 3.99

8.81E+08 0.64 0.13 19.95 0.58 0.01 1.77
1.08E+09 0.72 0.16 22.79 0.64 0.05 7.19
1.78E+09 0.99 0.19 19.07 0.90 0.03 3.58

4.4.4 Dielectric properties of skin coupling

gels but does not affect the frequency dependence at
microwave frequencies. The advantage is that it
The question of whether or not to moisten the skin
prior to dielectric measurements has been discussed.
reduces significantly the variability due to the
Moistening the skin hydrates the upper layer; this
goodness of the contact between skin and probe.
increases the measured permittivity and conductivity

36
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

In this study, we investigated the dielectric
properties of a number of commercially available
skin/probe coupling gels. Most coupling agents are
highly conductive, some, described as salt free gels
were found to be less conductive and equally
efficient at aiding good contact.
Two salt-free gels were applied to the skin and a
comparison made between the dielectric properties
with and without coupling agent.
Dielectric measurements on the gels
Dielectric measurements were carried out on 7 types
of commercially available skin coupling gels. These
gels are usually used for ultrasound scans or ECG
procedures. The gels were measured at room
temperature with an open ended coaxial probe of
2.98 mm in the frequency range of 50 MHz to 20 GHz.
Figures 18 and 19 show the measured permittivity
and conductivity of different skin gels across the
spectrum. Also in the same plots are the permittivity
and conductivity of dry skin (forearm) for
comparison.
The choice of gel
As it can be seen from Figures 18 and 19, gels 1 and 7
have the closest conductivity values to that of the
dry skin. Figures 20 and 21 show the measured
dielectric properties of human forearm skin before
and after applying two types of coupling gels.

Gel 1 Gel 2 Gel 3 Gel 4 Gel 5 Gel 6 Gel 7 dry skin

120

100

80
Permittivity

60

40

20

0
1.E+01 1.E+02 1.E+03 1.E+04 1.E+05
Frequency (MHz)

Figure 18. The measured permittivity of different skin coupling gels and the dry skin

37
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

Gel 1 Gel 2 Gel 3 Gel 4 Gel 5 Gel 6 Gel 7 dry skin

100
Conductivity (S/m

10

0.1
1.E+01 1.E+02 1.E+03 1.E+04 1.E+05
Frequency (MHz)

Figure 19. The measured conductivity of different skin coupling gels and the dry skin

dry skin skin+Gel1 skin+Gel7

100
90
80
70
Permittivity

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1.E+01 1.E+02 1.E+03 1.E+04 1.E+05
Frequency (MHz)

Figure 20. The measured permittivity of forearm skin with and without coupling gels

38
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

dry skin skin+Gel1 skin+Gel7

100
Conductivity (S/m

10

0.1
1.E+01 1.E+02 1.E+03 1.E+04 1.E+05
Frequency (MHz)

Figure 21. The measured conductivity of forearm skin with and without coupling gels

In general, the principal objectives of the projects

were achieved and in some respects exceeded. The
5 Analysis of the objectives met project provides data and analysis for input into
numerical and experimental dosimetry work. It
The new data provided in this report consolidate our
increased our understanding of the variation of
knowledge of the dielectric properties at microwave
dielectric properties with age and motivated
frequencies and provide statistical bounds on the
research on aqueous ionic solutions that proved to be
data that could be used in theoretical studies for
of academic as well as practical interest.
greater accuracy of prediction. Where appropriate,
limits could also be placed to encompass systematic
Unresolved administrative issues related to the
variations due to developmental changes. The
human volunteer study meant that the full-scale
uncertainty analysis in this report goes a long way
protocol could not be satisfied. A pilot study and all
towards providing a basis to make dielectric
basic preparatory work were carried out and are
measurement a routine yet accurate laboratory
reported.
procedure.

While designing benchmark experiments for inter-

laboratory comparative studies, it became apparent 6 Interpretation
that there were no standard test liquids with
This section contains a brief interpretation of the
electrical conductivity similar to the values found for
results including comparison with the literature and
body tissues. Aqueous ionic salt solutions could
comparison between data obtained in-vivo and in-
provide such a standard. However, despite their
vitro. Finally, the results of age study are briefly
fundamental and practical importance the literature
summarised.
on the subject was found to be rather limited and in
some cases unreliable. In parallel to this project, a
At microwave frequencies, three studies reported
study was made of the dielectric properties of
new data for brain tissue (Bao et al 1997 and Schmid
aqueous NaCl solutions the outcome of which is being
et al 2003a and b). Data tabulated by the authors
prepared for publication.

39
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies
and the current study are given in Figures 1-2. Data
presented in this report are in reasonable agreement
with the Gabriel 1996 database while the Bao et al
and Schmid et al data are higher for both
permittivity and conductivity.
It is important to try to find a reason as to why
carefully conducted studies, using adaptations of a
conceptually similar experimental procedure, are
still coming up with different results. In terms of
explanation we note the handling of the sample by
Bao et al., in which the whole brain is excised,
immersed in saline, temperature regulated and
measured while immersed. The authors give good
reasons for following this procedure, inevitable
however, one should expect their data to fall on the
high side of average due to the presence of saline.
Schmid et al, data on porcine (in vivo) grey matter
were obtained under conditions designed for the
study of variation with time over a period spanning
the time of death and beyond. Presumably, this is
why their measurements were carried over a narrow
frequency range with the measurement probe held in
position for the duration of the experiment (150
minutes). One could speculate that the amount of
pressure used to maintain constant contact between
the probe and the live brain could cause local oozing
of fluid and higher conductivity values.
In their human study, Schmid et al measured the
dielectric properties of grey matter in the frequency
range of 8002450 MHz on 20 human brains
immediately after excision. The measurements were
carried out at room temperature in the range 18-
25C and extrapolated to 37C using experimentally
determined thermal coefficients, nevertheless, the
dielectric properties at 900 MHz were in very good
agreement with their data for porcine grey matter in
vivo. It is understandably frustrating to realise that
the bounds of uncertainty remain high even for those
tissues that have been widely measured and
reported, however it is also important not to
generalise on the basis of limited data
When comparing the dielectric measurements on
grey matter under in-vivo and in-vitro conditions in
40
this study, no significant differences can be
observed. Slight differences observed between the
in-vivo and in-vitro data for spinal cord when
measured with and without dura layer on top of it
but no particular trend could be seen from the
results.
It is therefore important not to generalise on the
basis of such limited data that measurement in vitro
underestimates the dielectric properties of living
tissues at microwave frequencies. This may well be
the case at lower frequencies, in the range of the
and dispersions in view of the sensitivity of their
causal mechanism on the physiological state of the
tissue. Differences between in vivo and in vitro are
much less likely in the frequency range of the
dispersion where water content is the most
important determinant factor.
The results of dielectric measurement on cornea and
tongue were close to that of Gabriel 1996. In
addition no significant differences were observed
when data obtained in-vivo and in-vitro for these
two tissues.
The measured dielectric properties of liver are in
good agreement with the Gabriel et al 1996 database
and Peyman et al 2002 [29]. However, the dielectric
properties reported for liver in Stauffer et al 2003
[30] are slightly higher than the results reported in
this study. The measured dielectric properties of
kidney and heart are in general agreement with
those of the Gabriel et al 1996 database.
As evident from Figures 4a and 4b, the measured
dielectric properties of lung deflated are higher than
that of inflated. However, when similar
measurements carried out for small intestine no
differences observed in the measured dielectric data
of the inflated and deflated tissues. This could be
due to the thickness of the intestine, which is
relatively large.
Amongst different types of bone tissues,
intervertebral disc has the highest and long bone has
the lowest dielectric values. This difference is due to
the composition of these tissues. The intervertebral

disc is made up of concentric layers of fibrocartilage
surrounding a fluidly nucleus. On the other hand long
bone consists of a cortex (sheath) of solid, compact
bone (cortical bone) essentially tubular in structure
with an approximately round cross section. The
inner surface of the cortex surrounds a central
medullary cavity, which contains bone marrow. The
ends of the bone (within the central medullary
cavity) are occupied by a spongy matrix of cancellous
bone.
The results of dielectric measurements on ~50 kg pigs
showed generally higher values than the previously
reported data on skull, bone and marrow. However
the data obtained for mature sows (~250 kg) are
more comparable with the reported values in the
literature. The skull bone is basically a sandwich of
two types of cortical and cancellous bones. In the
case of ~50 kg pigs it consists of a very moist surface
and a different texture from other bones. One
possible explanation is that the ~50 kg animals are
not fully grown, their bone tissue is more vascular
and consequently has a higher water content
compared to bone from mature animals. In terms of
the dielectric properties this translates into higher
values at microwave frequencies. Also in the case of
skull, the average in-vivo values are somewhat higher
than the corresponding in-vitro measurements.
As with the skull, the measured dielectric properties
of long bone carried out in-vivo tend to be higher
than that of in-vitro in the case of long bone (5a and
5b).
Long bone, rib bone and skull were measured with
and without the periostium. The periostium is a thin
membrane of 1 to 2 mm thickness, depending on the
location, covering the bone. Sampling over the
periostium is affected by the underlying tissue. This
may well explain why the periostium of skull has
higher dielectric values than the other two bone
types.
Data were also acquired from the marrow in the
forelimb radius at distances corresponding to 30% and
50% of the length of the bone from the distal
epiphysis. At 50% position there is pure marrow in
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies
the bone cavity while at 30% position there is
cancellous bone made of a bone matrix filled with
marrow. The results showed higher values of
permittivity and conductivity for bone marrow 50%
when measured both in-vivo and in-vitro.
Due to large variation in the obtained dielectric data
for fat, the results were categorised into two groups.
The group with higher values is described as
infiltrated fat, that is contains fluid and blood while
the other group, which is more or less pure fat, has
lower dielectric values and is called not-infiltrated
fat. The difference observed when fat is measured
under in-vivo and in-vitro conditions are well within
the large variation in the measured data and are not
considered significant.
In the case of skin, some differences were observed
between the in-vivo and in-vitro measurements.
However this could be due to the fact that skin has
been measured on the back of the animal when
measured in-vivo while the in-vitro measurements
carried out on the area around the belly. The in-
vitro skin data falls between those reported by
Gabriel et al 1996 for dry and wet skin. However, the
values reported by Petaja et al 2003 [31] for human
abdomen skin and Peyman et al 2002 for rat skin are
lower than both in-vivo and in-vitro values in this
study (See Figures 8a and 8b).
Dielectric data obtained for muscle and tendon were
also in reasonably good agreement with those of
Gabriel et al 1996.
In addition, the dielectric properties of reproductive
system tissues were measured as well as mesenteric
lymph nodes were measured for the first time.
In general, when comparing the results of in-vivo
measurement to that of in-vitro some differences
were observed for tissues such as spinal cord, skull,
long bone and bone marrow 50%, while others such as
grey matter, cornea, tongue, bone marrow 30%,
intervertebral disc and its centre did not show any
differences. Such differences could reflects the
contamination of tissues with blood or other body
fluids, therefore no general conclusion can be made
41
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies
that there is a systematic difference between in-vivo
and in-vitro dielectric data at microwave
frequencies.
The results of the age study showed that while the
dielectric properties of grey matter does not change
with age, other tissues such as white matter and
spinal cord vary significantly. More significant results
observed in the case of bone, skull and marrow
42
tissues. Table 8 summarises the percentage decrease
in both permittivity and conductivity for selected
tissues at different frequencies s for ~10, ~50 and
~250 kg animals. These changes are mostly due to
the decrease in the water content of tissues as a
function of age. To a lesser extent, they also reflect
the physiological development of an organism or
tissue which involves structural and biochemical
changes.
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

Table 8. %Decrease in permittivity and conductivity of brain tissues as a function of animal age

From ~10 kg to ~50kg From ~50 kg to ~250 Kg From ~10 kg to ~250 kg

Tissue Frequency % decrease % decrease % decrease % decrease % decrease % decrease
(MHz) ( S / m) ( S / m) ( S / m)

450 14.0 13.8 15.9 17.9 27.7 29.3

900 14.7 12.8 15.9 17.7 28.2 28.2
White 1800 14.2 12.6 16.3 16.7 28.2 27.2
matter
2450 14.6 13.1 15.7 14.0 28.0 25.2
3000 14.5 12.7 16.3 13.8 28.5 24.7
5800 15.5 14.1 16.1 9.9 29.1 22.6
450 11.8 11.5 23.9 27.8 32.9 36.1
900 11.8 10.9 25.0 25.9 33.8 34.0
Spinal 1800 11.5 11.5 25.4 25.0 34.0 33.6
cord
2450 11.4 12.8 25.5 24.4 34.0 34.1
3000 11.2 11.4 25.6 23.8 33.9 32.5
5800 12.3 11.2 24.7 20.9 33.9 29.8
450 51.2 60.5 59.8 77.7 80.4 91.2
900 51.1 59.1 58.7 76.1 79.8 90.2
Bone 1800 50.6 57.7 58.3 72.5 79.4 88.4
marrow
30% 2450 50.5 56.6 57.7 70.0 79.0 87.0
3000 50.3 55.0 57.9 68.7 79.1 85.9
5800 51.3 52.4 56.4 64.0 78.8 82.9
450 51.2 60.5 59.8 77.7 80.4 91.2
900 51.1 59.1 58.7 76.1 79.8 90.2
Bone
1800 50.6 57.7 58.3 72.5 79.4 88.4
marrow
50% 2450 50.5 56.6 57.7 70.0 79.0 87.0
3000 50.3 55.0 57.9 68.7 79.1 85.9
5800 51.3 52.4 56.4 64.0 78.8 82.9
450 29.9 40.3 21.8 46.3 45.2 68.0
900 29.5 37.6 21.8 38.4 44.9 61.6
1800 29.3 32.2 21.6 34.3 44.6 55.4
Long
bone 2450 29.8 31.5 20.8 30.5 44.4 52.4
3000 29.8 29.5 21.7 29.1 45.0 50.0
5800 31.7 31.1 20.2 26.3 45.5 49.2
450 16.0 15.3 45.8 64.5 54.4 69.9
900 16.4 13.7 45.4 60.5 54.3 65.9
1800 16.8 14.0 45.3 54.0 54.5 60.4
Skull
2450 17.0 16.1 45.3 49.8 54.6 57.9
3000 16.6 16.1 45.8 47.9 54.8 56.3
5800 16.9 16.6 47.1 44.3 56.1 53.5

43
Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies

7 Future Priorities
The study of dielectric properties of human skin is of
great academic and applied interest. The pilot study
has indicated the sensitivity of the dielectric
properties of skin to certain pathological conditions.
This needs further investigation, as does the whole
area of dielectric properties of pathological tissues.
The dielectric properties of placental and foetal
tissues need characterisation.
The dielectric properties of bone marrow need
further investigation in relation to the distribution
within the skeleton of red and yellow marrow and its
variation with age,
9 Financial Summary
The total cost of the project was estimated at
347,195 to cover staff cost, consumables and travel
expenses for both MCL and DSTL. The cost including
VAT at 17.5% is 407, 954.
MCL submitted six invoices over the three years
period. Five invoices totalling 329,772 (387482
inclusive of VAT) were paid. The last invoice for
17,423 remains outstanding.

8 Publications

The following papers based on the data and

uncertainty analysis are shortly to be submitted for
publication to Physics in Medicine and Biology:

Dielectric Properties of Porcine Brain

Tissues at Microwave Frequencies; In-vivo,
In-vitro and Systematic Variation With Age
A. Peyman, S.J Holden and C. Gabriel.

Dielectric Properties of Porcine Skeletal

Tissues at Microwave Frequencies; In-vivo,
In-vitro and Systematic Variation With Age
A. Peyman, S.J Holden and C. Gabriel.

Uncertainty in the Dielectric Measurements

of Biological Tissues at Microwave
Frequencies A. Peyman, and C. Gabriel.

Complex Permittivity of Sodium Chloride

Solutions at Microwave Frequencies A.
Peyman and C. Gabriel.

44
 Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies
10 References
1. Gabriel C and Gabriel S, 1996. Compilation of
the Dielectric Properties of Body Tissues at RF
and Microwave Frequencies
http://www.emfdosimetry.org/dielectric/Title
/Title.html
2. Schawn H P 1957 Electrical properties of tissues
and cell suspensions Adv.Biol.Med.Phys. 5 147-
209
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Literature survey Phys.Med.Biol. 41 2231-2249
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Measurements in the frequency range of 10Hz
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Parametric models for the dielectric spectrum
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radio emissions from hand-held transceivers
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Guidelines for Evaluating and Expressing the
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(SAR) in the Human Body Due to Wireless
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Techniques, IEEE Std 1528-200X, Draft CBD 1.0
May 15, 2002
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1730 IEEE TRANS. MICROWAVE THEORY AND
TECHNIQUES, VOL. 45, NO. 10
27. Schmid G, Neubauer G, Illievich U M and
Alesch F 2003 Dielectric Properties of Porcine
Brain Tissue in the Transition From Life to
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Dielectric Properties of Tissues at Microwave Frequencies
Death at Frequencies From 800 to 1900 MHz,
Bioelectromagnetics 24:413- 422
28. Schmid G, Neubauer G and Mazal P R 2003
Dielectric Properties of Human Brain Tissue
Measured Less Than 10 h Post-mortem at
Frequencies From 800 to 2450MHz,
Bioelectromagnetics 24:423-430
29. Peyman A, Rezazadeh A A and Gabriel C 2001
Changes in the dielectric properties of rat
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D G and Lee T 2003 Phantom and animal
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31. Petaja L, Nuutinen j, Uusaro A, Lahtinen T and
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18
MTHR Scientific Co-ordination Team
www.mthr.org.uk

c/o Health Protection Agency

Centre for Radiation Chemical and
Environmental Hazards
Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0RQ