Polyvinyl alcohol cryogel phantoms of biological tissues for wideband operation at microwave frequencies.

The aim of this work is to provide a methodology to model the dielectric properties of human tissues based on phantoms prepared with an aqueous solution, in a semi-solid form, by using off-the-shelf components. Polyvinyl alcohol cryogel (PVA-C) has been employed as a novel gelling agent in the fabri...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Natalia Arteaga-Marrero, Enrique Villa, Javier González-Fernández, Yolanda Martín, Juan Ruiz-Alzola
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219997
id doaj-0699226c97e241ebb3627d4fcf0e656c
record_format Article
spelling doaj-0699226c97e241ebb3627d4fcf0e656c2021-03-03T20:33:21ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032019-01-01147e021999710.1371/journal.pone.0219997Polyvinyl alcohol cryogel phantoms of biological tissues for wideband operation at microwave frequencies.Natalia Arteaga-MarreroEnrique VillaJavier González-FernándezYolanda MartínJuan Ruiz-AlzolaThe aim of this work is to provide a methodology to model the dielectric properties of human tissues based on phantoms prepared with an aqueous solution, in a semi-solid form, by using off-the-shelf components. Polyvinyl alcohol cryogel (PVA-C) has been employed as a novel gelling agent in the fabrication of phantoms for microwave applications in a wide frequency range, from 500 MHz to 20 GHz. Agar-based and deionized water phantoms have also been manufactured for comparison purposes. Mathematical models dependent on frequency and sucrose concentration are proposed to obtain the complex permittivity of the desired mimicked tissues. These models have been validated in the referred bandwidth showing a good agreement to experimental data for different sucrose concentrations. The PVA-C model provides a great performance as compared to agar, increasing the shelf-life of the phantoms and improving their consistency for contact-required devices. In addition, the feasibility of fabricating a multilayer phantom has been demonstrated with a two-layer phantom that exhibits a clear interface between each layer and its properties. Thus, the use of PVA-C extends the option for producing complex multilayer and multimodal phantoms.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219997
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Natalia Arteaga-Marrero
Enrique Villa
Javier González-Fernández
Yolanda Martín
Juan Ruiz-Alzola
spellingShingle Natalia Arteaga-Marrero
Enrique Villa
Javier González-Fernández
Yolanda Martín
Juan Ruiz-Alzola
Polyvinyl alcohol cryogel phantoms of biological tissues for wideband operation at microwave frequencies.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Natalia Arteaga-Marrero
Enrique Villa
Javier González-Fernández
Yolanda Martín
Juan Ruiz-Alzola
author_sort Natalia Arteaga-Marrero
title Polyvinyl alcohol cryogel phantoms of biological tissues for wideband operation at microwave frequencies.
title_short Polyvinyl alcohol cryogel phantoms of biological tissues for wideband operation at microwave frequencies.
title_full Polyvinyl alcohol cryogel phantoms of biological tissues for wideband operation at microwave frequencies.
title_fullStr Polyvinyl alcohol cryogel phantoms of biological tissues for wideband operation at microwave frequencies.
title_full_unstemmed Polyvinyl alcohol cryogel phantoms of biological tissues for wideband operation at microwave frequencies.
title_sort polyvinyl alcohol cryogel phantoms of biological tissues for wideband operation at microwave frequencies.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2019-01-01
description The aim of this work is to provide a methodology to model the dielectric properties of human tissues based on phantoms prepared with an aqueous solution, in a semi-solid form, by using off-the-shelf components. Polyvinyl alcohol cryogel (PVA-C) has been employed as a novel gelling agent in the fabrication of phantoms for microwave applications in a wide frequency range, from 500 MHz to 20 GHz. Agar-based and deionized water phantoms have also been manufactured for comparison purposes. Mathematical models dependent on frequency and sucrose concentration are proposed to obtain the complex permittivity of the desired mimicked tissues. These models have been validated in the referred bandwidth showing a good agreement to experimental data for different sucrose concentrations. The PVA-C model provides a great performance as compared to agar, increasing the shelf-life of the phantoms and improving their consistency for contact-required devices. In addition, the feasibility of fabricating a multilayer phantom has been demonstrated with a two-layer phantom that exhibits a clear interface between each layer and its properties. Thus, the use of PVA-C extends the option for producing complex multilayer and multimodal phantoms.
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219997
work_keys_str_mv AT nataliaarteagamarrero polyvinylalcoholcryogelphantomsofbiologicaltissuesforwidebandoperationatmicrowavefrequencies
AT enriquevilla polyvinylalcoholcryogelphantomsofbiologicaltissuesforwidebandoperationatmicrowavefrequencies
AT javiergonzalezfernandez polyvinylalcoholcryogelphantomsofbiologicaltissuesforwidebandoperationatmicrowavefrequencies
AT yolandamartin polyvinylalcoholcryogelphantomsofbiologicaltissuesforwidebandoperationatmicrowavefrequencies
AT juanruizalzola polyvinylalcoholcryogelphantomsofbiologicaltissuesforwidebandoperationatmicrowavefrequencies
_version_ 1714821841531437056