6 Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

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(a) (b)

Figure 4: Dielectric polarization inside capacitors under an electric field : (a) single dielectric capacitor and (b) double dielectric capacitor.

polarization of cellular membranes and polarization

of protein and other organic macromolecules [23].
The -dispersion arises, principally, from interfacial 107 10
polarization (Maxwell-Wagner effect) [26] of cell 6

Specific conductivity ( S/m)

10
membranes [21]. In the frequency range 10 kHz r

Relative permittivity (r )

/2 10 MHz, the dielectric behavior of the 105

tissues is dominated by the heterogeneous composi- 104

tion and ionic activities inside the biological tissue. 1

These effects are principally responsible for the - 103

dispersion. The radio frequency dispersion or - 102

dispersion has been recognized as a Maxwell-Wagner 10
relaxation [26] caused by cell membranes [27]. A
large magnitude, low frequency -dispersion was
0.1
1
3 5 7 9 11
10 10 10 10 10 10
observed by Schwan [28] in a muscle tissue. This effect
Frequency (Hz)
is related, in part at least, to the tubular shape of
muscle fibers [29]. The theoretical aspects of the low Figure 5: The variations of the complex permittivity of the biological
frequency dispersion of colloid particles in electrolyte tissues with frequency.
solution have been studied by Schwarz in 1962 [30].
(iii) -dispersion (/2 10 GHz). The -dispersion in
biological tissues is caused by the reorientation of and hence a number of -effects of small magnitude occur
water molecules [18]. This dispersion has been well at the tail of the -dispersion caused by proteins, protein-
studied and has found many applications [3133]. bound water (called -dispersion), and cell organelles such
Rajewsky and Schwan [34] noted the -dispersion as mitochondria [37]. A second Maxwell-Wagner dispersion
at microwave frequencies which is understood to be [26] which occurs at frequencies well above those of the main
caused by abundant tissue water. Schwan conducted -dispersion [8] is a characteristic of suspended particles
the extensive studies on the electrical properties of surrounded by a shell and usually of small magnitude [14].
biological cell suspensions in 1993 [35] over a broad Figure 6(a) shows Cole-Cole plot explaining ( +
frequency range extending from less than 1 Hz to ( () +
ef ef
(0))/2)2 + ( )2 = ((
ef
(0)
ef
())/2)2 .
many GHz and summarized the mechanisms which Figure 6(b) shows versus line describing =
ef
(0)
contribute to the total frequency response. He studied ( ). Figure 6(c) shows versus / line.

the mechanisms responsible for electrical properties
of tissues and cell suspensions, and he observed Remark 4. In the case when is sufficiently small (dilute
that the frequency changes of these properties obey suspension) so that |1 ext /int | 1, (21) can be expressed
causality, that is, the Kramers-Kronig relationships as
ext ()
[35] which relate changes of dielectric constants
to conductivity changes. A number of mechanisms
ef
() = ext () (1 + (1 ) + (2 ))
int ()
(30)
which reflect the various compartments of the biolog-
ical materials were identified such as membranes and
their properties, biological macromolecules, and fluid because ef () = ext ()/(1 (1 ext ()/int ())).
compartments inside and outside membranes. Neglecting (2 ) in (30), we get

ext ()
ef () (int () (ext () int ()) )
Membrane relaxation is anticipated from the Hodgkin-
Huxley membrane model [36] and adds to the -effects [8], int ()