ABOUT THIS BOOK
This book aims to help authors learn the multiple directions in which RF/micro-
wave technologies are heading toward healthcare and biosensing applications, the
achievements that have been made so far, and the challenges for researchers to
solve in the near future. Chapter 1 by Li and Schreurs reviews the fundamentals
of microwave engineering, which will be used in the other chapters of this book.
Since microwave engineering is a discipline that has gone through many years of
development, Chapter 1 only illustrates basic knowledge and is aimed at helping
readers from other disciplines to understand the basic principles relevant to this
book. Therefore, readers with good microwave engineering background can skip
that chapter. In Chapter 2, Interaction between electromagnetic waves and biolog-
ical materials, by Tofighi, the modeling and measurement procedure for electro-
magnetic properties of biological materials, namely complex permittivity, is
described, which serves as the foundation for the interaction between RF/micro-
wave and biological materials. The chapter also covers issues related to interfac-
ing with tissue through sensing probes, such as coaxial, microstrip, and coplanar
waveguide transmission lines, providing a useful perspective that is beneficial to
some other medical and biological applications discussed in this book. Chapter 3,
Microwave cancer diagnosis, by To¨pfer and Oberhammer, focuses on microwave
diagnosis of malignant tumors, based on the fact that a special microwave signa-
ture has been observed for many malignant tumors. A multitude of techniques,
including free-space quasi-optical techniques, near-field probes, microwave
tomography, ultra-wideband radar, and passive microwave imaging, some of
which have already entered clinical trials, are presented for the diagnosis of breast
cancer, skin cancer, and brain tumors. Chapter 4, Wireless closed-loop stimulation
systems for symptom management, by Chiao, presents closed-loop systems for
autonomous management of disease symptoms, using examples of neural and gas-
tric electrical stimulation applications that target the management of neurological
and gastric disorders. Wireless signal transduction and wireless power transfer
mechanisms across tissues make it possible to eliminate batteries in the implants
for long-term use and to reduce the implant size for endoscopic implementation.
As a result, these systems can provide better care for patients who have chronic
illness and improve the healthcare system with personalized medicine and lower
costs. Starting from Chapter 5, Human-aware localization using linear-frequency-
modulated continuous-wave radars, the rest of the book discusses biomedical
radars for various healthcare applications. In Chapter 5, Human-aware localiza-
tion using linear-frequency-modulated continuous-wave radars, Mun˜oz Ferreras,
Go´mez Garcı´a and Li present coherent linear-frequency-modulated continuous-
wave radars. With a relatively simple hardware front-end, the solution is capable
of both relative displacement and absolute range measurements, thus enabling
versatile health care applications based on physiological motion sensing and
human-aware localization. Chapter 6, Biomedical radars for monitoring health, by
xvIntroduction