Theoretical analysis on efficient microwave warming of human blood

Abstract

To study the thermal impact of microwave irradiation on the human blood, a meticulous analysis has been performed with the aim of rapid generation of uniformly warmed blood assumed as a 2D cylinder. The analysis preliminarily involves the comparison of average microwave power absorption by the sample for various sample sizes on being subjected to two different irradiation schemes i.e. lateral and radial. The Galerkin finite element analysis has been applied to simultaneously solve the Maxwell's equation and heat transfer equation using pertinent boundary conditions to study the thermal effect of the microwave interaction with blood sample. Prelusive analysis of average power absorption and the subsequent detailed analysis of the heating rate and thermal non-uniformity through the plots of average temperature and temperature difference against time, respectively, have led to selection of optimum heating strategies for various blood samples corresponding to suitably selected sizes. Considering the frequency of 2450 MHz and intensity of 1 W.cm-2, the lateral irradiation is found to be more favorable for samples having moderate or large diameter, whereas the radial irradiation is found to be more suitable for small samples. Considering all the aspects, the present work recommends an efficient way for enhanced microwave assisted heating of human blood samples (2D cylindrical geometry) with known or measurable dielectric properties.