In spite of the technological advancement of the healthcare system, monitoring skin hydration still remains a challenging task. The solutions currently available in the literature are inadequate to obtain continuous real-monitoring, especially in a wearable perspective. Starting from these considerations, this paper addresses the implementation of an innovative wearable device that can monitor skin hydration through microwave reflectometry technique. In particular, a preliminary validation was carried out through time-domain reflectometry (TDR) in-vivo measurements, from which the corresponding frequency-domain (FD) data were extrapolated. Successively, an in-depth study on the frequency response of the sensing element designed with respect to different skin hydration levels was carried out through full-wave simulations on human phantoms. This strategy allowed to consider different reference skin hydration levels and to obtain specific calibration curves relating the dielectric permittivity of skin to the FD-response of the monitoring system. The obtained results have thus led to the implementation of a system based on microwave reflectometry, with large potential for real-time, continuous monitoring of skin hydration.

Microwave Wearable System for Sensing Skin Hydration

Schiavoni R.;Monti G.;Tarricone L.;Masciullo A.;Cataldo A.
2021-01-01

Abstract

In spite of the technological advancement of the healthcare system, monitoring skin hydration still remains a challenging task. The solutions currently available in the literature are inadequate to obtain continuous real-monitoring, especially in a wearable perspective. Starting from these considerations, this paper addresses the implementation of an innovative wearable device that can monitor skin hydration through microwave reflectometry technique. In particular, a preliminary validation was carried out through time-domain reflectometry (TDR) in-vivo measurements, from which the corresponding frequency-domain (FD) data were extrapolated. Successively, an in-depth study on the frequency response of the sensing element designed with respect to different skin hydration levels was carried out through full-wave simulations on human phantoms. This strategy allowed to consider different reference skin hydration levels and to obtain specific calibration curves relating the dielectric permittivity of skin to the FD-response of the monitoring system. The obtained results have thus led to the implementation of a system based on microwave reflectometry, with large potential for real-time, continuous monitoring of skin hydration.
2021
978-1-7281-9539-1
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11587/459828
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