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Microwaves for Biomedical Applications and Sensing
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Microwaves for Biomedical Applications and Sensing

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomedical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 5842

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Marta Cavagnaro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications Sapienza University, Via Eudossiana, 18-00184 Rome, Italy
Interests: microwave thermal ablation; antennas; dielectric properties of tissues; hyperthermia
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Rosa Scapaticci

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Institute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment, 328-80124 Napoli, Italy
Interests: electromagnetic scattering problems; biomedical microwave imaging; design of microwave imaging systems for medical applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microwaves are increasingly used in biomedical applications, both in diagnostic as well as therapeutic applications. Examples of developed techniques are radar-based approaches to detect respiratory activity, or microwave imaging techniques to detect strokes, as well as hyperthermia and thermal ablation techniques. Additionally, home-care applications rely on wireless sensors, as well as RFid developments.

The Special Issue will include the most up-to-date research on the use of microwave techniques in biomedical applications, including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Electromagnetic diagnostics;
  • Advancements in therapeutic techniques;
  • Dielectric characterization of biological materials;
  • Electromagnetic interactions with biological media;
  • Microwave sensors;
  • Theranostic applications;
  • Bio-radar.

Both numerical and experimental studies are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Marta Cavagnaro
Dr. Rosa Scapaticci
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • microwaves
  • electromagnetics
  • diagnostic applications
  • therapeutics
  • sensors

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 4979 KiB  
Article
Non-Uniform Antenna Array for Enhanced Medical Microwave Imaging
by Younis M. Abbosh, Kamel Sultan, Lei Guo and Amin Abbosh
Sensors 2025, 25(10), 3174; https://doi.org/10.3390/s25103174 - 17 May 2025
Viewed by 175
Abstract
A non-uniform antenna array is proposed to enhance the accuracy of medical microwave imaging systems by increasing the amount of useful information captured about the imaged domain without increasing the number of antennas. These systems have so far been using uniform antenna arrays, [...] Read more.
A non-uniform antenna array is proposed to enhance the accuracy of medical microwave imaging systems by increasing the amount of useful information captured about the imaged domain without increasing the number of antennas. These systems have so far been using uniform antenna arrays, which lead to highly correlated signals, limiting the amount of imaging information and adversely affecting diagnostic accuracy. In the proposed non-uniform antenna array method, the optimal number and positions of antennas are calculated with the aim of enhancing spatial diversity and reducing information redundancy. The mutual information coefficient is used as a metric to evaluate and minimize redundancy between received signals. A microwave head imaging system is used to verify the proposed approach. The results of the investigated scenarios show that using a non-uniform antenna configuration outperforms a uniform setup in imaging accuracy and clarity, when using the same number of antennas. Moreover, the reconstructed images demonstrate that using an optimized non-uniform antenna array with fewer elements can outperform a uniform array with more elements in terms of localization accuracy and image quality. The proposed approach improves imaging performance and reduces system complexity, cost, and power consumption, making it a practical solution for real-world biomedical imaging applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microwaves for Biomedical Applications and Sensing)
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14 pages, 2922 KiB  
Article
Impact of Power and Time in Hepatic Microwave Ablation: Effect of Different Energy Delivery Schemes
by Macarena Trujillo, Mahtab Ebad Najafabadi, Antonio Romero, Punit Prakash and Francois H. Cornelis
Sensors 2024, 24(23), 7706; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24237706 - 2 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1004
Abstract
Microwave ablation often involves the use of continuous energy-delivery protocols with a fixed power and time. To achieve larger ablation zones, a range of protocols and power levels have been studied in experimental studies. The objective of the present study was to develop [...] Read more.
Microwave ablation often involves the use of continuous energy-delivery protocols with a fixed power and time. To achieve larger ablation zones, a range of protocols and power levels have been studied in experimental studies. The objective of the present study was to develop and experimentally evaluate the performance of a coupled computational electromagnetic–bioheat transfer model of 2.45 GHz microwave ablation under a variety of continuous and pulsed power delivery schemes. The main aim was to obtain an in-depth knowledge of the influence of energy delivery settings on ablation zone profiles and thermal damage in the peri-ablation zone. In addition to the theoretical model, we evaluated the power delivery schemes using ex vivo experiments and compared them to previously published data from in vivo experiments. The results showed slight differences in terms of the ablation zone size for different power delivery schemes under ex vivo conditions, with the applied energy level being the most important factor that determines ablation zone size; however, under in vivo conditions, applying a high-power pulse prior to and following a longer constant power application (BOOKEND 95 W protocol) presented the most favorable ablation zones. Moreover, the modeling and experimental studies identified threshold applied power and ablation times beyond which increases did not yield substantive increases in ablation zone extents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microwaves for Biomedical Applications and Sensing)
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17 pages, 4330 KiB  
Article
Microwave Digital Twin Prototype for Shoulder Injury Detection
by Sahar Borzooei, Pierre-Henri Tournier, Victorita Dolean and Claire Migliaccio
Sensors 2024, 24(20), 6663; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24206663 - 16 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1091
Abstract
One of the most common shoulder injuries is the rotator cuff tear (RCT). The risk of RCTs increases with age, with a prevalence of 9.7% in those under 20 years old and up to 62% in individuals aged 80 years and [...] Read more.
One of the most common shoulder injuries is the rotator cuff tear (RCT). The risk of RCTs increases with age, with a prevalence of 9.7% in those under 20 years old and up to 62% in individuals aged 80 years and older. In this article, we present first a microwave digital twin prototype (MDTP) for RCT detection, based on machine learning (ML) and advanced numerical modeling of the system. We generate a generalizable dataset of scattering parameters through flexible numerical modeling in order to bypass real-world data collection challenges. This involves solving the linear system as a result of finite element discretization of the forward problem with use of the domain decomposition method to accelerate the computations. We use a support vector machine (SVM) to differentiate between injured and healthy shoulder models. This approach is more efficient in terms of required memory resources and computing time compared with traditional imaging methods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microwaves for Biomedical Applications and Sensing)
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25 pages, 13044 KiB  
Article
Experimental Validation of Realistic Measurement Setup for Quantitative UWB-Guided Hyperthermia Temperature Monitoring
by Alexandra Prokhorova and Marko Helbig
Sensors 2024, 24(18), 5902; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24185902 - 11 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1123
Abstract
Hyperthermia induces slight temperature increase of 4–8 °C inside the tumor, making it more responsive to radiation and drugs, thereby improving the outcome of the oncological treatment. To verify the level of heat in the tumor and to avoid damage of the healthy [...] Read more.
Hyperthermia induces slight temperature increase of 4–8 °C inside the tumor, making it more responsive to radiation and drugs, thereby improving the outcome of the oncological treatment. To verify the level of heat in the tumor and to avoid damage of the healthy tissue, methods for non-invasive temperature monitoring are needed. Temperature estimation by means of microwave imaging is of great interest among the scientific community. In this paper, we present the results of experiments based on ultra-wideband (UWB) M-sequence technology. Our temperature estimation approach uses temperature dependency of tissue dielectric properties and relation of UWB images to the reflection coefficient on the boundary between tissue types. The realistic measurement setup for neck cancer hyperthermia considers three antenna arrangements. Data are processed with Delay and Sum beamforming and Truncated Singular Value Decomposition. Two types of experiments are presented in this paper. In the first experiment, relative permittivity of subsequently replaced tumor mimicking material is estimated, and in the second experiment, real temperature change in the tumor imitate is monitored. The results showed that the presented approach allows for qualitative as well as quantitative permittivity and temperature estimation. The frequency range for temperature estimation, preferable antenna configurations, and limitations of the method are indicated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microwaves for Biomedical Applications and Sensing)
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17 pages, 11321 KiB  
Article
Slot-Loaded Vivaldi Antenna for Biomedical Microwave Imaging Applications: Influence of Design Parameters on Antenna’s Dimensions and Performances
by Mengchu Wang, Lorenzo Crocco, Maokun Li and Marta Cavagnaro
Sensors 2024, 24(16), 5368; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24165368 - 20 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1757
Abstract
This paper demonstrates the design steps of a slot-loaded Vivaldi antenna for biomedical microwave imaging applications, showing the influence of the design parameters on the antenna’s dimensions and performances. Several antenna miniaturization techniques were taken into consideration during the design: reduction in the [...] Read more.
This paper demonstrates the design steps of a slot-loaded Vivaldi antenna for biomedical microwave imaging applications, showing the influence of the design parameters on the antenna’s dimensions and performances. Several antenna miniaturization techniques were taken into consideration during the design: reduction in the electromagnetic wavelength by using a high-permittivity substrate material (relative permittivity ϵr=10.2), the placement of the antenna inside a coupling medium (ϵr=23), and the elongation of the current path by etching slots on each side of the radiator to reduce the antenna’s lowest resonant frequency without increasing its physical dimensions. Moreover, an analysis of different antenna slot design scenarios was performed considering different slot lengths, inclination angles, positions, and numbers. Considering the frequency range of microwave imaging (i.e., about 500 MHz–5 GHz) and the array arrangement typical of microwave imaging, the best design was chosen. Finally, the antenna was fabricated and its performances in the coupling medium were characterized. The simulation and measurement results showed good agreement between each other. In comparison with literature antennas, the one developed in this work shows wide bandwidth and compact dimensions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microwaves for Biomedical Applications and Sensing)
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