Estimates on electromagnetic power absorption in highly-lossy configurations

Electromagnetic power absorption in biological tissues has recently received due scientific and public attention, particularly in the areas of cellular communication and hyperthermic treatments. While efficient numerical algorithms have been developed for obtaining accurate power distributions in complicated configurations, their physical interpretation and explicit dependence on the problem's parameters are usually quite problematic. In an attempt to gain a clear insight into the electromagnetic power absorption mechanism, we propose a set of prototype models corresponding to typical highly-lossy configurations. These models provide an important physical insight as well as estimates and bounds on major parameters involved in realistic configurations.