Millimetre-wave near field probe for skin defects detection

Abstract

In this paper, a method for skin defects detection using near field probe is proposed. Unlike traditional methods that are based on biopsy and lab tests, the proposed system is capable of providing a non-invasive ad-hoc detection of diseased cells. The system uses high frequency electromagnetic radiations at millimetre-wave spectrum. The system consists of a sensor/ probe and a vector network analyser (VNA). The probe was designed as a monolithically on-wafer dielectric-filled rectangular waveguide. Due to its small size, very small (mm2) and shallow (sub-mm) skin conditions can be detected. The preliminary simulation revealed promising results, where significant differences between basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and healthy skin models, were detected in terms of the magnitude and phase of the voltage reflection coefficient (S11). The simulations also demonstrated the system capability to detect BCC that were either at the surface or embedded within healthy skin.