Wideband Microwave Imaging Systems for the Diagnosis of Fluid Accumulation in the Human Torso

199 Pages·2016·28.19 MB·English

Wideband Microwave Imaging Systems for the Diagnosis of Fluid Accumulation
in the Human Torso
Sasan AHDI REZAEIEH
B.Sc. (Telecommunications Eng.), M.Sc. (Telecommunications Eng.)

A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at
The University of Queensland in 2016
School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
I
Abstract

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the
leading causes of death worldwide, with one third of deaths attributed to CVDs in 2012. Pulmonary
oedema and pleural effusion are the most apparent symptoms of many diseases categorized under
CVDs such as heart failure and lung cancer, at which fluid (mainly with high water content) is
accumulated in or around the lungs. Therefore, constant monitoring of fluid levels inside the lungs is
one of the most efficient ways of early detection of CVDs. Chest X-Rays and computational
tomography (CT)-scans are the most widely used devices for fluid detection; however, they suffer
from lack of sensitivity and ionizing radiation, respectively, that makes them unsuitable for long term
monitoring purposes. Currently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most reliable device that
can be utilized for fluid accumulation detection. However, considering the fact that more than 75%
of the CVDs occur in countries with low or middle income, it is not widely available. Moreover, due
to their bulky structures, the abovementioned devices lack the capability of being used in mobile
emergency units such as ambulances or clinics at rural areas. To that end, this thesis is dedicated to
design and fabrication of a low cost, portable and non-invasive device that can be used as an initial
decision making tool for medical staff to pursue further investigations to define the exact cause of the
oedema.
First chapter of the thesis is allocated to introduction of the cardiovascular diseases and their
effects on the dielectric properties of the tissues inside the lungs. A complete literature review on
various alternative methods for replacing the conventional devices is performed. The obtained results
by these systems and their advantages as well as their limitations are discussed. Microwave imaging
technique is then presented in chapter two as a robust method which can both provide information
about the presence and location of the accumulated fluid. This is specifically of great importance for
cases where biopsy is required to remove or take sample of the accumulated fluid for saving the life
of the patient. Chapter two is also allocated to the introduction of microwave-based medical
diagnostic and monitoring systems for different applications such as breast cancer detection and brain
imaging. A prospect of the possible realizable systems is investigated and existing scanning
approaches are discussed. The main contributions of the thesis that are the design of several complete
platforms, design of novel and unidirectional microwave sensors (antennas), promotion of novel
scanning and detection methods are clarified in these chapters.
In chapter three, firstly the optimum operating frequency for torso imaging is defined. By
applying a circuit model that models different layers of torso as circuit elements, it is shown that a
wide operating bandwidth at lower ultra-high frequency (UHF) band provides a reasonable
II
compensation between the resolution of the obtained images and signal penetration inside the body.
It is explained that due to the limited allowed microwave power for safety considerations
unidirectional antennas are required. Then, it is explained that due to the large wavelengths at lower
UHF band the sizes of the prospective antennas are expected to be large. To that end, novel
miniaturization techniques are proposed to reduce the sizes of the conventional antennas in chapters
three and four. These antennas are categorized under three dimensional (3-D) and planar structure. A
folding technique is introduced and used in the proposed 3-D structures and it is shown that by using
this technique both size and directivity/back radiation suppression is improved. 3-D slot-antenna and
cubic monopole-fed antennas are also proposed that wide operating bandwidth is achieved using slot
impedance transformer, and multiple resonance-merging techniques, respectively. Regarding the
planar structures that are presented in chapter four, it is shown that by combining the loop-dipole
modes, both wide-operating bandwidth and directivity enhancement is achievable. Capacitive-
loading of a loop antenna is the other proposed technique in which a loop antenna is partially and/or
non-uniformly loaded with capacitors in the forms of simple slots and mu-negative (MNG)
metamaterial-unitcells that help miniaturizing the size of the antenna by lowering its first resonance
frequency.
In chapters five and six, several platforms using single and multiple antennas with linear and
circular configurations are presented and the utilized imaging technique for data processing is
explained. The platforms are presented in a systematic progressive manner in which each system is
covering the limitations of its previous prototype. Two final clinical platforms in the shape of clinical
bed and doughnut-shaped chamber are proposed and the obtained test results on artificial phantom,
animal lungs and human tests are presented. Based on the obtained results on healthy human beings
it is shown that the scattered-field from torso of people with different body sizes vary in a reasonably
limited range that is a welcoming result for building a global-database to define a threshold for healthy
range.
Chapter seven concludes the discussions made throughout the thesis and explains future works
that can be carried out to further improve the reported systems.
III
Declaration by author

This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written
by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the
contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis.

I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance,
survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any
other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of
work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does
not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other
degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of
my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award.

I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and,
subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available
for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has
been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.

I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright
holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright
holder to reproduce material in this thesis.

IV
V
Publications during candidature

1. S.A. Rezaeieh, A Zamani, KS Bialkowski, A Mahmoud, AM Abbosh, “Feasibility of using
wideband microwave system for non-invasive detection and monitoring of pulmonary oedema,”
Nature, Scientific Reports, No. 14047,2015.
2. S.A. Rezaeieh, A. Zamani, K.S. Bialkowski, A.M. Abbosh, “Foam embedded wideband antenna
array for early congestive heart failure detection with tests using artificial phantom with animal
organs” IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 63, no. 11, pp. 5138-5143, Nov.
2015.
3. S.A. Rezaeieh, A.M. Abbosh, Y. Wang, “Wideband unidirectional antenna of folded structure in
microwave system for early detection of congestive heart failure”, IEEE Transactions on
Antennas and Propagation, vol. 62, no. 10, pp. 5375-5381, 2014.
4. S.A. Rezaeieh, A. Zamani, K.S. Bialkowski, A.M. Abbosh, “Unidirectional slot-loaded loop
antenna with wideband performance and compact size for congestive heart failure detection”,
IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 2015, vol. 63, no. 10, pp. 4557-4562, Oct.
2015.
5. S.A. Rezaeieh, K.S. Bialkowski, A. Zamani, A.M. Abbosh, “Loop-dipole composite antenna for
wideband microwave-based medical diagnostic systems with verification on pulmonary edema
detection” IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, Accepted on 1st September 2015,
Available at IEEE Xplore website.
6. S.A. Rezaeieh, A. Zamani, A.M. Abbosh,”3-D wideband antenna for head-imaging system with
performance verification in brain tumor detection”, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation
Letters, vol. 14, pp.910-914, 2015.
7. S.A. Rezaeieh, A.M. Abbosh, A. Zamani, K.S. Bialkowski, “Pleural effusion detection system
using wideband slot-loaded loop antenna”, Electronics Letters, vol. 51, pp. p. 1144–1146, 2015.
8. A Zamani, S.A. Rezaeieh, AM Abbosh, “Lung cancer detection using frequency-domain
microwave imaging”, Electronics Letters, vol.51, pp.740-741, 2015.
9. S.A. Rezaeieh, K.S. Bialkowski, A. Abbosh, “Three-dimensional open-ended slot antenna for
heart failure detection system employing differential technique” IEEE Antennas and Wireless
Propagation Letters, vol. 13, pp.1753-1756, 2014.
10. S.A. Rezaeieh, A. Abbosh, "Wideband and unidirectional folded antenna for heart failure
detection system," IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, vol. 13, pp.844-847, 2014.
11. S.A. Rezaeieh, K.S. Bialkowski, A. Abbosh, “Microwave system for the early stage detection of
congestive heart failure”, IEEE Access, vol. 2, pp. 921-929, 2014.
VI
12. S.A. Rezaeieh, A. Abbosh, M.A. Antoniades, "Compact CPW-fed planar monopole antenna with
wide circular polarization bandwidth," IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, vol. 12,
pp.1295-1298, 2013.
13. S.A. Rezaeieh, A. Abbosh, M.A. Antoniades, "Broadband planar circularly polarized antenna for
ultra-high frequency applications," IET Microwaves, Antennas & Propagation, vol. 8, no. 4, pp.
263-271, March 18 2014.
14. S.A. Rezaeieh, K.S. Bialkowski, A. Abbosh, “Folding method for bandwidth and directivity
enhancement of meandered loop uhf antenna for heart failure detection system”, IET Microwaves,
Antennas & Propagation, vol. 8, No. 14, pp. 1218-1227, 2014.
15. S.A. Rezaeieh, M.A. Antoniades, A.M. Abbosh, “Compact wideband loop antenna partially
loaded with mu-negative metamaterial unit-cells for directivity enhancement,” IEEE Antennas
and Wireless Propagation Letters, 2016. DOI: 10.1109/LAWP.2016.2542799
16. S.A. Rezaeieh, M.A. Antoniades, A.M. Abbosh, “Bandwidth and Directivity Enhancement of
Loop Antenna by Non-Periodic Distribution of Mu-Negative Metamaterial Unit Cells,” IEEE
Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 2016. DOI: 10.1109/TAP.2016.2574878
17. S.A. Rezaeieh, A.M. Abbosh, “Compact Planar Loop-Dipole Composite Antenna with Director
for Bandwidth Enhancement and Back Radiation Suppression,” IEEE Transactions on Antennas
and Propagation, 2016. DOI: 10.1109/TAP.2016.2570246.
18. S. A. Rezaeieh, A. Abbosh, "Broadband CPW-fed slot antenna with circular polarization for on-
body applications at ISM band," IEEE Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference Proceedings
(APMC), pages 1184-1186, Dec. 2012.
19. S. A. Rezaeieh, Y.-Q. Tan, A. Abbosh, "Design of coupling medium for pulmonary edema
microwave detection system," IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium
(APSURSI), pp.2057-2058, 2013.
20. S.A. Rezaeieh, A. Abbosh, M.A. Antoniades, "Broadband UHF antenna for heart failure
detection system," IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium
(APSURSI), pp.2089-2090, 2013.
21. S.A. Rezaeieh, Y.Q. Tan, A. Abbosh, M.A. Antoniades, "Equivalent circuit model for finding
the optimum frequency range for the detection of heart failure using microwave systems," IEEE
Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium (APSURSI), pp.2059-2060, 2013.
22. S.A. Rezaeieh, A. Abbosh, M.A. Antoniades, S. Mustafa, "Dual-band dual-polarized antenna for
medical applications," International Conference on Electromagnetics in Advanced Applications
(ICEAA), pp.1277-1279, 2013.
VII
23. Y.Q. Tan, S.A. Rezaeieh, A. Abbosh, S. Mustafa, "Defining optimum frequency range for heart
failure detection system considering thickness variations in human body tissues," International
Conference on Electromagnetics in Advanced Applications (ICEAA), pp.1280-1282, 2013.
24. S.A. Rezaeieh, A. Abbosh, "Compact UHF wide slot antenna for microwave stethoscope
designed for heart failure detection," Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference Proceedings (APMC),
pp.1136-1138, 2013.
25. S.A. Rezaeieh, A. Abbosh, “Broadband Zigzag Corrugated Taper Slot Antenna for Heart Failure
Detection Systems”, International workshop on antennas technology (iWAT), pp.177-179, 2014.
26. S.A. Rezaeieh, U.T. Ahmet, A. Abbosh, “Unidirectional Antenna with Planar Reflector for Heart
Failure Detection Systems”, International workshop on antennas technology (iWAT), pp.171-173,
2014.
27. S.A. Rezaeieh, K.S. Bialkowski, A. Abbosh, “Effects of Antenna Characteristics on Performance
of Microwave Based System Designed for Early Stage Congestive Heart Failure Detection”, 1st
Australian Microwave Symposium (AMS) , pp.35-36, 26-27 June 2014.
28. S.A. Rezaeieh, K. Sorbello, A. Abbosh, “Specific Absorption Rate in Human Torso from
Microwave-based Heart Failure Detection Systems”, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society
International Symposium (APSURSI), pp.518-519, 6-11 July 2014.
29. S.A. Rezaeieh, A. Abbosh, “Miniaturization Techniques for Antennas Designed for Microwave-
based Heart Failure Detection Systems”, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International
Symposium (APSURSI), pp.520-521, 6-11 July 2014.
30. A.M. Abbosh, S.A. Rezaeieh, K.S. Bialkowski, “Microwave techniques as diagnostic tool for
congestive heart failure”, IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Workshop Series on RF and
Wireless Technologies for Biomedical and Healthcare Applications (IMWS-Bio), pp.1-3, 8-10
Dec. 2014 (Invited)
31. A. Zamani, S.A. Rezaeieh, A.M. Abbosh, “Frequency domain method for early stage detection
of congestive heart failure”, IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Workshop Series on RF and
Wireless Technologies for Biomedical and Healthcare Applications pp.1-3, 8-10 Dec. 2014.
32. S.A. Rezaeieh, A.M. Abbosh, "Recent developments in antenna design for microwave based
congestive heart failure detection systems," IEEE Antennas and Propagation & USNC/URSI
National Radio Science Meeting, pp. 538-539, 19-24 July 2015.
33. S.A. Rezaeieh, A.M. Abbosh, "Review of systems for the detection and monitoring of
accumulated fluids in the human torso,” International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation
(ISAP2015), 9-12th November 2015.

VIII
Publications included in this thesis

S.A. Rezaeieh, A Zamani, KS Bialkowski, A Mahmoud, AM Abbosh, “Feasibility of using wideband
microwave system for non-invasive detection and monitoring of pulmonary oedema,” Nature,
Scientific Reports, No. 14047, 2015. – Various parts of the paper are incorporated to Chapter 1,
Chapter 3 and Chapter 6.
Contributor Statement of contribution
S.A. Rezaeieh (Candidate) Designed antennas, platform and experiments
(70%)
Wrote and edited the paper (70%)
A. Zamani Wrote Imaging Code (100%)
Wrote and edited paper (10%)
K.S. Bialkowski Designed experiments (20%)
Wrote and edited the paper (5%)
A. Mahmoud Wrote and edited the paper (5%)
A.M. Abbosh Designed experiments/antennas (10%)
Wrote and edited the paper (10%)

S.A. Rezaeieh, A.M. Abbosh, "Review of Systems for the Detection and Monitoring of Accumulated
Fluids in the Human Torso,” International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation (ISAP2015),
9-12th November 2015. – This paper is incorporated as Chapter 1.
Contributor Statement of contribution
S.A. Rezaeieh (Candidate) Wrote and edited the paper (80%)
A.M. Abbosh Wrote and edited the paper (20%)

S.A. Rezaeieh, Y.Q. Tan, A. Abbosh, M.A. Antoniades, "Equivalent circuit model for finding the
optimum frequency range for the detection of heart failure using microwave systems," IEEE Antennas
and Propagation Society International Symposium (APSURSI), pp.2059-2060, 2013. – Various parts
of the paper are incorporated in Chapter 1 and Chapter 3.
Contributor Statement of contribution
S.A. Rezaeieh (Candidate) Simulations (80%)
Wrote and edited the paper (70%)
Y.Q. Tan Wrote and edited paper (10%)
A. Abbosh Simulations (20%)
IX