Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Manchester, Sackville Street Building, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
Department of Computing and Mathematics, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester M1 5GD, UK.
Sensors (Basel). 2020 Feb 5;20(3):847. doi: 10.3390/s20030847.
The need for technologies to monitor the wound healing under dressing materials has led us to investigate the feasibility of using microwave and millimetre wave radiations due to their sensitivity to water, non- ionising nature, and transparency to dressing materials and clothing. This paper presents synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images obtained from an active microwave and millimetre wave scanner operating over the band 15-40 GHz. Experimental images obtained from porcine skin samples with the presence of dressing materials and after the application of localised heat treatments reveal that SAR images can be used for diagnosing burns and for potentially monitoring the healing under dressing materials. The experimental images were extracted separately from the amplitude and phase measurements of the input reflection coefficient (S). The acquired images indicate that skin and burns can be detected and observed through dressing materials as well as features of the skin such as edges, irregularities, bends, burns, and variation in the reflectance of the skin. These unique findings enable a microwave and millimetre-wave scanner to be used for evaluating the wound healing progress under dressing materials without their often-painful removal: a capability that will reduce the cost of healthcare, distress caused by long waiting hours, and the healthcare interventional time.
由于微波和毫米波辐射对水的敏感性、非电离特性以及对敷料和衣物的透明性，需要监测敷料下伤口愈合的技术，这促使我们研究使用微波和毫米波辐射的可行性。本文介绍了在 15-40GHz 频段工作的主动微波和毫米波扫描仪获得的合成孔径雷达 (SAR) 图像。从具有敷料和局部热疗应用的猪皮样本中获得的实验图像表明，SAR 图像可用于诊断烧伤，并有可能监测敷料下的愈合情况。从输入反射系数 (S) 的幅度和相位测量中分别提取了实验图像。获得的图像表明，可以透过敷料检测和观察皮肤和烧伤，以及皮肤的特征，如边缘、不规则、弯曲、烧伤和皮肤反射率的变化。这些独特的发现使微波和毫米波扫描仪能够在不频繁痛苦地移除敷料的情况下评估敷料下的伤口愈合进展：这种能力将降低医疗保健成本、长时间等待引起的痛苦以及医疗保健介入时间。
