A High-Impedance Surface for Improving Performance of Microwave Imaging Antennas for Biomedical Applications

In this paper we introduce a high impedance surface for improving performance of antennas employed in biomedical Microwave Imaging (MWI). We first design a standard bow-tie antenna, commonly adopted in MWI, by using a commercial numerical electromagnetic solver. Then, we develop the high impedance surface to be placed behind the proposed bow-tie. The numerical simulations demonstrated that the use of the high impedance surface implies an excellent improvement in the electromagnetic energy delivery inside a biological phantom, quantifiable by a significantly higher coupling between two opposite radiating elements. This study can pave the way in the use of high impedance surfaces within the uprising topic of Microwave Imaging for clinical purposes.