Development and implementation of an impedance measurement technique for bovine wet bone samples

Abstract

This paper presents a development and implementation of a methodology to find the electrical properties (conductivity and permittivity) of cortical and medullar tissue in bovine femur samples. The sample size was ten centimeters; they were obtained of healthy and young animals, and after four days animals were dead. Soft parts were removed from the samples and the samples were vacuum packed at 0°C until the tests were done. Experimental protocols for maintenance and treatment of samples were developed. A couple of contact electrodes were built for the measurements and the electrode’s impedance was determined. A parallel RC circuit was connected to the measurement system to decrease the electrode’s impedance effect. The measurements were done for 100 Hz and 120 Hz. The measured variables were impedance (Z) and angle (θ), and the calculated variables were conductivity (σ) and permittivity (ε) by means of mathematical equations. The results were in agreement with literature values.

Keywords

• Bioelectricity
• electrical properties of bone tissue
• bio-impedance measurement