Heating patterns in biological tissue phantoms caused by millimeter wave electromagnetic irradiation.

Distribution of millimeter wavelength electromagnetic energy absorption in surface layers of biological tissue models was studied using methods of Infrared Thermography. 0.1 mm thin-layer phantoms were irradiated in the near field using different types of horn antennas in the 37-78 GHz frequency range. Heating patterns were recorded during microwave irradiation, and surface SAR distributions were calculated. The temperature resolution was better than 0.05 K. It was found that horn antennas produced nonuniform heating patterns in irradiated objects. These nonuniform patterns were due to a geometrical resonance resulting from a secondary wave-mode interaction between an irradiated object and the corresponding critical cross-section of the horn antenna. Local SAR values in hot spots exceeded the spatially averaged values by over 10 times, and the widths of these hot spots at 5 times the average SAR were often 1 mm or less. The location, quantity, number and size of the local field absorption maxima of irradiated objects strongly depended on the frequency of electromagnetic irradiation, with equivalent Q-factors of 500 or more. These findings provide an explanation for a number of frequency-dependent effects of millimeter wave electromagnetic irradiation.