Initial Characterization of Healthy and Malignant in vivo and ex vivo Human Colon Tissues under Surgery Procedures

TL;DR

This study presents preliminary dielectric measurements of healthy and malignant human colon tissues during surgery, revealing that advanced tumors exhibit higher dielectric properties than healthy tissues, which could aid in medical diagnostics.

Contribution

First in vivo and ex vivo dielectric characterization of human colon tissues across a broad frequency range during surgery, considering different tumor stages.

Findings

Malignant tissues show higher dielectric values than healthy tissues.

Advanced tumor stages correlate with increased dielectric properties.

Measurements were conducted externally without direct contact.

Abstract

The dielectric characterization of human tissues can play a crucial role in the development of new medical diagnostic tools. In particular, the characterization of healthy and pathological tissues can provide vital information for diagnosis. In this paper, preliminary results from a small-scale measurement campaign conducted in 0.5-26.5GHz during real surgeries on healthy and malignant human colon tissues are presented. Those measurements were carried out externally to the colon, without direct contact to the tumor growing inside the colon. Furthermore, different tumor stages are taken into account. Initial findings reveal that advanced tumor stages are related with increased higher values of dielectric properties in malignant tumor tissues compared to the healthy ones.