Modelling of the dielectric properties of trabecular bone samples at microwave frequency

In this paper the dielectric properties of human trabecular bone are evaluated under physiological condition in the microwave range. Assuming a two components medium, simulation and experimental data are presented and discussed. A special experimental setup is developed in order to deal with inhomogeneous samples. Simulation data are obtained using finite difference time domain from a realistic sample. The bone mineral density of the samples are also measured. The simulation and experimental results of the present study suggest that there is a negative relation between bone volume fraction (BV/TV) and permittivity (conductivity): the higher the BV/TV the lower the permittivity (conductivity). This is in agreement with the recently published in vivo data. Keywords: Bone dielectric properties, Microwave tomography, Finite difference time domain.