Dynamic Heart Phantom for Electromagnetic Imaging

This paper presents the design of a dynamic heart phantom for developing functional electromagnetic imaging systems. The dynamic phantom provides a realistic simulation of both the electrical properties as well as the changes that occur over the course of a person’s pulse. The heart model is composed of a balloon filled with blood emulating material and expands and contracts using a push pull mechanism. Signals measured over 500 MHz–2 GHz with two log-periodic show that the change in volume can be sensed, enabling microwave imaging to measure blood flow.