Simulation of impedance measurements at human forearm within 1 kHz to 2 MHz

Abstract

This work presents a simulation analysis of the bioimpedance measurements at the human forearm. The Ansys® High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) has been used to analyze the electrical response of a section of human forearm with three domains of dielectric behavior – fat, muscle and artery (blood). The impedance values were calculated as the ratio of the output voltage at the electrodes to the applied known current (1 mA). A model was developed and was simulated for impedance values obtained within a frequency range of 1 kHz to 2 MHz. The measurements were done at three instances of radial artery diameter. The maximum resistance and reactance values were calculated as 445 Ω and 178.5 Ω, 356 Ω and 138 Ω, and 368 Ω and 144.3 Ω for diameters 2.3 mm, 2.35 mm, and 2.4 mm respectively. The set of impedance values obtained followed the Cole-plot trend. The results obtained were found to be in excellent agreement with the Cole modelling. The set of values obtained at three different diameters reflected the effect of blood flow on impedance values.

Keywords

• bioimpedance
• β dispersion
• cole plot
• forearm