Take-Home Messages

• We derive and test the two-dimensional discrete dipole approximation (2D DDA) method for use in microwave imaging.
• The two-dimensional electric field forward solution of the microwave imaging system is numerically simulated for a simplified breast tumour model, and it has been compared to finite element solution using COMSOL Multiphysics.
• Sufficient sampling size for the imaging domain of our microwave breast imaging has been proposed for which the solution accuracy with respect to the sampling, inclusion, size, and property contrast has been demonstrated.
• The simulation results and the measurements show good agreement and we conclude that we can utilize the 2D discrete dipole approximation as an alternative, fast and reliable forward solver for microwave tomography.

Take-Home Messages

• A compact, multi-purpose broadband architecture for integrated complex permittivity sensors, utilizing a patch element and a multiharmonic downconversion for fast and energy-efficient readout.
• The architecture can be embedded in systems performing GHz frequency range permittivity footprint measurement for material characterization as well as permittivity imaging.
• Applications range from traditional clinical and point-of-care scenarios to the increasingly emerging area of wearable devices. Examples include in-vivo tissue hydration monitoring, label-free malignant tissue inspection as an assisting tool in removal surgery, evaluation of drug penetration through skin and bloodglucose concentration measurement.
• The proposed sensor readout core has the smallest known area and is the first to demonstrate permittivity imaging capabilities at microwave frequencies.

Take-Home Messages

• A versatile magnetic exposure system able to reach intensities in the order of mT has been theoretically designed, with the aim of using it for different biomedical applications of low intensity magnetic fields, from a few Hz to 20 kHz.
• The biological applications for which this exposure system has been designed are very different: a cuvette for drug delivery applications; a chamber for ex vivo experiments on brain slices, and a rat phantom for in vivo animal studies.
• The system is designed to reach a magnetic field of 1.4 mT with a homogeneity of 95% in the volume between the coils where the target will be placed.
• The novelty of the proposed exposure system mainly relies on its versatility, which permits in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo laboratory experiments in a wide frequency range and with negligible thermal increase induce.

Take-Home Messages

• This paper proposed a new biolabeling system using ferromagnetic resonance properties of multiple magnetic nanowire types for in-vitro cancer type diagnosis.
• The exterior biofunctionalization that bonds ligands to specific cell types enables multiplexed cell labeling; while the intrinsic FMR properties of MNWs enables the spontaneous identification of multiple labels.
• The feasibility of the proposed biolabeling system is validated by applying the same MNW characterization and identification approach on MNW array measurements.
• The work confirms that distinct FMR signals can be detected in a mixed system of individual nanowire types using through transmission response. To account for low FMR signals and close FMR B-field spacing, a fitting algorithm can be used to validate the presence of the specific material types.
• This proposed biolabeling system has the capability to expand cancer cell detection throughput and reduce processing time; it can also be combined with other labeling methods to enhance the testing range of the current methods.

Take-Home Messages

• The complete investigation of VO2 thin films interaction with extremely high frequency waves, as well as nanoparticles interaction with optical waves was conducted.
• The optical properties of VO2 nanosphere and size effect on these characteristics in insulator and metallic phases were investigated.
• VO2 in the form of nanoparticles and thin films reveals controllable properties. Thus, VO2 is a very proper material to use in sensors at different electromagnetic wave frequencies.
• The VO2 nanoparticles can be suggested as a heat transfer agent for cancer cells ablation or hyperthermia treatment.
• The intrinsic radiation of VO2 film in the 28-32 GHz band in the vicinity of metal-insulator phase transition was observed.

Take-Home Messages

• The diagnosis of lung diseases such as, for example, pneumothorax, requires a continuous tracking of their air/liquid content. This latter influences the conductivity value of the chest and it can be inferred in real-time by solving the EIT inverse problem through LBE methodologies.
• The conclusion in this manuscript is that, thanks to the numerical and comparative assessment, it is possible to state the LBE technique at hand yields instantaneous and robust conductivity predictions starting from a low size training set.
• The targeted biological and/or medical application is the continuous real-time tracking of the lungs ventilation/status for patients under mechanical ventilation in intensive care units.
• The significance/breakthrough of this work is the numerical assessment of the reliability and the effectiveness of the LBE technique at hand as applied to solve the EIT inverse problem in real-time to faithfully inferring the lungs status.
• The numerical assessment presented in this paper has proven that the LBE method at hand overcomes representative state-of-the-art techniques thanks to the joint exploitation of the noise-filtering capabilities of the PLS and of the adaptive generation/refinement of the training database.