Dielectric studies of corn syrup for applications in microwave breast imaging

Permittivity and conductivity studies of corn syrup in various concentrations are performed using coaxial cavity perturbation technique over a frequency range of 250 MHz - 3000 MHz. The results are utilized to estimate relaxation time and dipole moments of the samples. The stability of the material over the variations of time is studied. The measured specific absorption rate of the material complies with the microwave power absorption rate of biological tissues. This suggests the feasibility of using corn syrup as a suitable, cost effective coupling medium for microwave breast imaging. The material can also be used as an efficient breast phantom in microwave breast imaging studies.