Overview

In the “Analysis of electrical (Impedance) and dielectric properties (Radar) for Localization and assessment of tissue changes” the focus is on the study and implementation of physical measurements which can be aid the medical doctor and the surgeon during a surgery. Electrical and dielectric probes can be miniaturized and mounted on smart and flexible tools. These probes are based on small alternating current injections which frequency varies between few kilohertz to few gigahertz covering all the spectrum from radio waves to microwaves. Digital and mathematical elaboration can be subsequently used to reconstruction a tomographic image of the probed region or to draw specific information from the probed region.

Current research at ITeM

Current research at ITeM focuses on creating a mathematical model of organs and tissues which include both electrical and dielectrical properties. On top of this a virtual sensor to detect the variation of the these properties can be designed and tested. One goal is to distinguish among healthy and cancerous tissues which can be used to create a localization system for tumors. Moreover differentiating untreated and cauterized tissues, it is possible to guide the surgeon during the electro-cauterization procedures.

The main topics are:

• mathematical modeling of human tissues and organ
• mathematical modeling of electrical and dielectrical measurements
• reconstruction algorithm to derive images from electrical and dielectrical measurements
• integration of miniaturized electrical and dielectrical measurements on smart medical devices

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Cooperations

• Chair of Electrical Measurement and Testing Methods at the University of Freiburg (EMP)
• Institute for Medical Device Technology University of Stuttgart (IMT)
• KARL STORZ SE & Co KG
• Telocate GmbH
• University Hospital Mainz