Electromagnetic Imaging for a Novel Generation of Medical Devices : Fundamental Issues, Methodological Challenges and Practical Implementation

This book offers the first comprehensive coverage of microwave medical imaging, with a special focus on the development of novel devices and methods for different applications in both the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases. Upon introducing the fundamentals of electromagnetic imaging, it guides the readers to their use in practice by providing extensive information on the corresponding measurement and testing techniques. In turn, it discusses current challenges in data processing and analysis, presenting effective, novel solutions, developed by different research groups. It also describes state-of-the-art medical devices, which were designed for specific applications, such as brain stroke monitoring, lymph node diagnosis, image-guided hyperthermia, and chemotherapy response monitoring. The chapters, which report on the results of the EU-funded project EMERALD (ElectroMagnetic imaging for a novel genERation of medicAL Devices) are written by leading European engineering groups in electromagnetic medical imaging, whose coordinated action is expected to accelerate the translation of this technology “from research bench to patient bedside”. All in all, this book offers an authoritative guide to microwave imaging, with a special focus on medical imaging, for electrical and biomedical engineers, and applied physicists and mathematicians. It is also intended to inform medical doctors and imaging technicians on the state-of-the-art in non-invasive imaging technologies, at the purpose of inspiring and fostering the translation of research into clinical prototypes, by promoting a stronger collaboration between academic institutions, industrial partners, hospitals, and university medical centers.

Francesca Vipiana is a Full Professor of Electromagnetic Fields at the Department of Electronics and Telecommunications of the Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy. Member of the advisory board of the Politecnico di Torino’s PhD School, she has been teaching there the course “Advanced Computational EM for antenna analysis”. She has also been an instructor at the post-graduate School “European School of Antennas and Propagation” (ESoA). Her main research activities concern the modeling, design, realization and testing of microwave imaging systems for medical and industrial applications. She has been coordinating the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action, Innovative Training Network "EMERALD - ElectroMagnetic imaging for a novel genERation of medicAL Devices", funded by the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program of the European Union. Professor Vipiana received the Lot Shafai Mid-Career Distinguished Award from the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society in 2017, the First Prize inthe Poster Competition at the IEEE Women in Electromagnetics Workshop in 2009, and the Young Scientist Award at the URSI General Assembly in 2005. Furthermore, she is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation and of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine. She also served as a Guest Editor for the Special Issue “Electromagnetic Imaging and Sensing for Food Quality and Safety Assessment” (IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, vol. 62, no. 5, Oct. 2020).

Lorenzo Crocco is a Research Director within the Institute for the Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment, at  the National Research Council of Italy (IREA-CNR). Since 1996, he has been doing research on electromagnetic (EM) scattering, with a focus on diagnostic and therapeutic applications of EM fields, through-the-wall radar, and GPR. With more than 100 papers published on these topics, he also gave keynote lectures at related conferences, and was involvedin many national and international research projects. An associate editor of the IEEE Journal of Electromagnetics, RF and Microwaves in Medicine and Biology (IEEE J-ERM), he also co-edited a book on Electromagnetic Technologies for Brain Diseases Diagnostics, Monitoring and Therapy (Crocco et al, 2018, Springer). Lorenzo Crocco received the full professor habilitation in electromagnetic fields in 2018. He is a fellow of the Electromagnetic Academy (TEA) and a URSI Senior Member. Since 2013, he has been a member of the management committees of the European COST actions devoted to medical applications of EM fields, such as MiMed and MyWAVE. He is a Member of the Board of Directors of the “European School of Antennas and Propagation” (ESoA) and of the Italian Electromagnetic Society (SIEm). He was the recipient of the SIEm "Barzilai" Award for Young Scientists (2004), and the URSI General Assembly URSI Young Scientist Award (2005).