UWB Muscle Water Content Sensor

During this Phase I, we intend to evaluate Ultra Wide Band (UWB) radar for use as a sensor for water content of skeletal muscle. The sensing mechanism is based on the large difference between the dielectric constant of water, and that of the host material. We have clearly demonstrated the feasibility of this approach for sensing of moisture in materials with gross dielectric properties similar to invitro muscle tissue. The sensor will be capable of generating two- and possibly three-dimensional images of water content of skeletal muscle. The sensor will be non-contact. The basic hardware (UWB chip set) is being developed for the communications market, where economies of scale will sharply drive down prices. This will allow for the development of a novel, cheap, and accurate non-contact Total Body Water (TBW) sensor. Because our hardware emits ultra-low power RF signals (45microwatt, as compared to about 2 Watt for a cellphone), there is no risk to human subjects to be subjected to the sensor.