Wearable Electromagnetic Head Imaging System Using Flexible Wideband Antenna Array Based on Polymer Technology for...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Electromagnetics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Early diagnosis of brain stroke is critical for patient outcomes.
• Existing diagnostic tools can be slow, bulky, and not portable.
• There is a need for rapid, on-site diagnostic solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel wearable electromagnetic head imaging system for early brain stroke detection.
• To design and validate a flexible, wideband antenna array for head imaging.
• To evaluate the system's performance using a head phantom.

Main Methods:

• A flexible antenna array with electromagnetic band gap (EBG) and metamaterial (MTM) reflectors was designed.
• The antenna was embedded on a poly-di-methyl-siloxane (PDMS) polymer substrate.
• An eight-element array was tested on a 3D specific anthropomorphic mannequin (SAM) head phantom using a confocal imaging algorithm.

Main Results:

• The antenna achieved a 53.8% fractional bandwidth (1.16-1.94 GHz) and >80% radiation efficiency.
• Satisfactory field penetration in head tissues with a safe specific absorption rate was observed.
• The imaging results demonstrated the potential for detecting brain bleeds.

Conclusions:

• The developed wearable electromagnetic head imaging system shows promise for rapid, portable brain stroke diagnosis.
• The conformal antenna array on PDMS is suitable for on-contact head imaging.
• This technology could significantly improve early detection and treatment of brain bleeds.