Sigma Xi Public Talk
Electromagnetic Sensing and Treatment of Living Things: Using Microwaves to Detect and Treat Disease in Humans and Trees
Presented by Carey M. Rappaport, Distinguished professorf Electrical and computer engineering Northeastern University
Because of their ability to penetrate and heat, electromagnetic waves have found use in several unusual applications, specifically in interaction with biological tissue. Microwave radar has been used as an anatomic imaging modality for detecting breast cancer, and THz radiation is being proposed for vulnerable plaque identification. Using a simple conformal antenna, microwave sensing of trees can alert arborists if there is an otherwise undetectable infestation of Asian Long-Horned beetle. By depositing microwave power at depth, cancerous or otherwise diseased tissue can be non-invasively heated and inactivated or ablated while sparing healthy surrounding tissue. This survey presentation will touch on a variety of life science electromagnetic applications, discussing feasibility, advantages, efficacy, and limitations of the proposed approaches.
5:00 pm, Thursday, February 21, 2019
Room C, UNM Conference Center
Northeast corner of Indian School and University
Individuals with disabilities who need an auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in P&A events should contact the Physics Department (phone: 505-277-2616, email: physics@unm.edu) well in advance to ensure your needs are accomodated. Event handouts can be provided in alternative accessible formats upon request. Please contact the Physics front office if you need written information in an alternative format.
A schedule of talks within the Department of Physics and Astronomy is available on the P&A web site at http://physics.unm.edu/pandaweb/events/index.php