Preliminary study on in-vivo dielectric properties of tissues in the human oral cavity at microwave frequencies

Abstract

This paper reports on a preliminary characterisation of the complex permittivity of tissues within the oral cavity. In-vivo dielectric measurements were conducted on the lips and on five different areas of the tongue corresponding to different anatomical areas (ventral, dorsal, tip, left and right sides). The study included 25 patients having different ages and for each patient, three independent measurements were repeated for each tissue type. From this study, it has been observed that no statistical difference exists between the different areas of the tongue. However, there exists a statistical difference between the average dielectric properties of the tongue and lips.